To people not familiar with the gambling industry in the United States, the U.S. policy on online gambling might make them think that the gambling is not a very big business in America. Anyone taking a little bit closer look, however, would understand differently.

According to published estimates, assuming that the estimates are reliable, the American gambling industry is worth about eighty billion dollars. This makes it more lucrative than the music industries, sports industries, and movie industries combined. Last December, when the Las Vegas Sands casino made its initial public offering, profits were immense. They even prompted comparisons to IPOs during the big dotcom boom of the 1990s.

U.S. policy on Internet gambling, however, seems to contradict how hot the gambling business is in the U.S. The U.S. has steadfastly refused to permit offshore Internet gambling, making the argument that the U.S. must prohibit online gambling in the interest of public morals. Many have countered that this argument contradicts the fact that gambling is allowed in most U.S. States (48 out of 50 permit gambling in one form or another) and that most states are fiscally dependent upon public lotteries and special casino taxes. The money raised from the lotteries and casinos covers a greater and greater part of the state budgets and serves to shift some of the tax burden away from all the citizens to just those who gamble. Those who favor legalized gambling even claim that gambling has always been used throughout U.S. history as a means of raising revenue. In a basic sense, it is true too. Raffles held to raise money for the local little league is just one example of this. The 1970s, however, is when state governments actually starting making gambling a budgetary mainstay. It has become such a big deal, in fact, that a number of recent scandals have come to the public’s attention regarding the extent to which Washington lobbyists have profited from the gambling industry. Nevertheless, state governments now rely on gambling so heavily that to do away with it would be fiscally impossible.

Of course, the United States is not alone when it comes to a booming gambling industry. Internet gambling is quickly becoming one of the fastest growing industries around. PartyGaming, the Gibraltar based online gambling business, recently floated on the London Stock Exchange and was almost at blue-chip status from the moment of its flotation. Other online gambling businesses are following suit and experiencing similar success. Considering all the money to be made in the online gambling industry and the success of these companies, there is no doubt that the U.S. will soon feel the negative consequences of its anti-online gambling policy.