“3 States May Legalize Online Gambling”

Political office holders from North Dakota, Illinois, and Georgia are each spearheading efforts to allow at least some form of Internet gambling in their respective states.

North Dakota State Representative, Jim Kasper, has proposed legislation, which has already passed the house, to permit online Poker sites to operate legally within the state. Kasper argues that legalizing Internet Poker would eliminate the state’s need for tax increases, as online gambling is a proven revenue generator.

Additionally, Georgia and Illinois have proposed bills that would make it legal to sell online lottery tickets to residents at least 18 years of age. Senator John Cullerton of Illinois and Representative Terry Barnard of Georgia both point out that the sale of lottery tickets could generate millions in revenues for their states.

These three states are not alone in their attempts to make online gambling more accessible to American citizens. Britain too is about to allow 137 of its land-based casinos to begin taking overseas online bets from Americans.

Of course, all of this means that the Federal Wire Act of 1961, which prohibited the use of phone lines for placing wagers, will have to be circumvented. According to legal experts, however, this shouldn’t be too difficult since the law is hard to enforce and difficult to apply when it comes to Internet technology.

In response to the limitations of the Act, U.S. lawmakers have been trying for years to get the law updated, hoping that, by doing so, they could put the brakes on the monumental growth of the online gambling industry.

This could be an uphill battle, though, as the U.S. is now appealing the WTO’s ruling which states that the U.S. is in violation of international trade rules because U.S. citizens are allowed to make wagers at domestic casinos using credit cards, but are prohibited from doing so when it comes to online casinos.

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