Wall Street Journal Asks Should Web Gambling be Legalized?

There has been a poll put up on the Wall Street Journal community board that asks a pretty basic question: Should web gambling be legalized? This is not the first time the WSJ has posed such a question on its boards and the results as of this article are overwhelmingly in favor.

This is not a formal poll by any means and as of today just shows 358 total votes but 78.2% of those voting favor legalizing online gambling. Currently there are several states looking to bridge state revenue gaps by regulating some forms of intrastate internet gambling.

According to a commenter on the poll, “People play games online by the millions and there is a confluence of online gaming and online gambling and online ecommerce. Burying ours heads in the sand will not stop technology or human nature”

According to Rep. James Leach, the online gambling industry is booming. Americans alone will send $6 billion to off shore online casinos in 2011. That accounts for half of the $12 billion bet worldwide. None of this money is being looked after by any regulatory committee and no portion stays in the U.S. in the form of fees or taxes.

So the debate continues across America. Some states are looking to regulate their own version of intrastate online gambling and there is rumor that April of this year a new Federal bill will be proposed that is co-written by Republican Congressman John Campbell and Democrat Congressman Barney Frank. It has been a bumpy ride for those who want regulated online gambling in the U.S. and this year, so far, looks to be more of the same.