Why is The Future of Online Gambling Arriving So Slowly?

The world has seen a lot of change in the online gambling industry over the last couple of decades. Many countries are beginning to accept that the best route forward, both for their citizens and for the increased tax income, is to legalize, legislate and regulate the online gambling industry. Oddly, the United States seems to be one of the countries on the slower side of this trend. This is despite a ruling by the Supreme Court in 2018 when they overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act(PASPA) which allowed an online sports betting boom to take place. Many industry luminaries in the online gambling world thought that this would lead to a more widespread acceptance of online casino gaming, but this has not been the case. Instead, there are only seven states in the United States that have legalized and regulated online casino platforms.

But why is this the case? Why is it that only Pennsylvania, Delaware, West Virginia, Connecticut, New Jersey, Michigan and Nevada have allowed their constituents access to the instant payout online casinos and for internet gambling to grow legally? This article will attempt to investigate what challenges the legalisation of online gambling is facing across the US and explore what it has to offer once that elusive future does arrive.

Why exactly has progress been so slow for online casino gaming?

There are many factors, but we believe that there are three that hold greater weight than the others, as follows, in no particular order.

1. State-level reluctance
   Oddly enough, sports betting is often considered to be closer to more traditional forms of gambling than online casino gambling. This is true even when users would be playing the same game that they could at a physical venue, just at an online platform. The real truth of this is just that lawmakers and members of the public have a harder time understanding and reconciling playing casino games online than they do placing bets online. There are also, of course, some states with strong religious and conservative populaces. These states typically don't accept sports betting any more than they do online casino gaming.
    
2. A strong tradition of protecting the rights of land-based casinos
   This is a prickly issue, for many states physical casino operators see the growth of online casinos as nothing but a threat to their livelihoods. This means that while those operators, who have loud political voices, don't mind sports betting being more commonplace, they are not as okay with online casino gaming. As these groups see a direct threat to their own way of life, it should be no surprise that they are lobbying and fighting to stall efforts to legislate online casino gaming.
    
3. The complex nature of the necessary regulations
   For many states, regulating sports betting was a relatively simple proposition. This is not the case when it comes to online casino gaming. With states struggling to figure out exactly what needs to be regulated to protect their constituents many states that might have a willingness to embrace a new source of tax revenue are stymied when it comes to actually drafting the legislation. This problem is compounded when old laws such as the Wire Act of 1961 impact the burgeoning industry.

What is there to gain?

There are a number of benefits from a legalised and regulated online casino industry, and there are a number of states that other states can use as litmus tests for what works and what doesn't. Again, this is not an exhaustive list, but rather what we consider to be the three most important advantages that legalisation and regulation of online casino gaming brings.

1. Tax revenue
   Obviously, money. There is plenty of evidence regarding the increased tax revenue that online gambling platforms can generate. In 2023 New Jersey, a state with what could be considered the most mature online casino industry, having legalized online casino gaming just over a decade ago, saw in excess of $300 million in tax revenue from online casinos. Capital like that can be used to upgrade a great deal of infrastructure and to support education programs and other public services.
    
2. Protection for players and consumers
   This might be less intuitive, but by legalising and regulating online casino gaming states would be taking great strides in protecting their constituents. This is particularly interesting in states where the protection of their constituents is one of the main reasons claimed for not legalising the industry. Regardless of legalisation, there are many ways that an individual who wants to engage in online gambling can do so. By legislating and regulating the industry, the states can provide safer places for people who wish to engage in the activity to do so. They would no longer need to resort to platforms of legally and morally dubious standards.
    
3. Better platforms
   A regulated online casino industry would be more readily able to make use of technological improvements and advancements and so in turn would be able to offer a better experience to their customers. This would in turn lead to more money, more tax revenue, and also to safer platforms. Online casino platforms that are operating outside of regulatory frameworks typically will be built in a much sparser fashion, with less attention paid to making the experience as smooth or safe for customers. 

Conclusion

To conclude, even if industry experts claim that the future of online casino gaming in the US is inevitable, that future is not likely to arrive tomorrow. There are a number of barriers to the acceptance of online casino gaming political, economic and cultural. Despite those barriers, the advantages of legalising and regulating the online casino industry are sure to drive more states to move towards legalisation.

By GamesAndCasino