It shouldn't be news to anybody that the U.S. government is losing out on
billions in tax revenue because of their decision to abstain from regulating
online casino gambling. Oh, and did I mention that the U.S. would rather leave
their citizens unprotected by a sea of unscrupulous online casino operators
either? I thought the UIGEA was supposed to protect the underage and those prone
to addictions. Hmm? What else could it be doing them? Oh ya, it gives carveouts
to fantasy sports and horserace betting. I forgot.
Yep, as senseless as it
sounds, you can bet that a greater number of politicians are beginning to speak
up about it, now that they are actually beginning to realize what it was they
actually passed into law! Since the UIGEA was shadily buried deep within a
necessary Port Security Bill, there was basically no way around it. Now that's
democracy for you!
Anyways, I wouldn't put Washington Democrat, Jim McDermott, in with that
bunch of numbskulls. McDermott has actually been very outspoken about regulating
online casino gambling for some time now. In fact, McDermott has penned a bill
that calls for State regulation of online gambling, called the Internet Gambling
Regulation Enforcement Act (IGREA).
Most recently, McDermott has made some refinement to his bill, which he
described in his testimony before a House Judiciary Committee hearing charged
with gauging the merits of regulating online gambling and overturning the
stupidest law ever passed - I mean the UGLEA - oops again - I mean the UIGEA.
This refinement included new provisions that would better safeguard against tax
cheats, while imposing a licensing fee on gaming operators of 2% of all player
deposits.
McDermott also brought attention to some statistics, including the $3 billion
to $15 billion that could be generated in tax revenue during the first five
years of a liberalized online betting market in the U.S., while up to $43
billion could be generated during the first decade of regulation. I think
McDermott's most poignant testimony was when he asked the committee, "Do we
think we can actually stop people from gambling online?"