It may be the last state where we would expect gambling to become legal, but many residents of the state of Utah believe that it won’t be long before they will be able to gamble over the net legally. While it is unlikely that Utah state officials would ever legalize gambling, international developments, to which the U.S. is a party, just might end up making gambling legal there.

A recent ruling by the World Trade Organization, in particular, which states that the United States cannot block other countries from offering Internet gambling to U.S. residents, could pave the way for Internet gambling to become available to all U.S. residents regardless if they live in Utah or Hawaii or any other state that expressly forbids gambling. Another potential threat to Utah’s ability to maintain gambling’s illegal status, is the Central American Free Trade Agreement. Included in this agreement is a substantial amount of Internet gaming and free trade litigation from Costa Rica that could significantly affect Utah’s right, or any other state’s right, to prohibit gambling.

Not to be overlooked, either, is the nascent interest among Utah residents themselves in Internet gambling and the desire to see gambling legalized there. According to a poll by Deseret Morning News/KSL-TV, 30 percent of Utahns say they favor the legalization of gambling there. Pollster Dan Jones says that he noted a growth in support for legalized gambling even though, overall, it is still unpopular. If gambling were legalized, studies indicate that approximately a quarter billion dollars a year would be kept in state instead of lost to neighboring states where gambling is legal.

There is even some support amongst some state officials in Utah. The city of Wendover’s mayor, for example, Stephen Perry, believes that legalizing gambling in his city would help it compete with neighboring West Wendover, Nevada, which attracts a lot of tourists, businesses and revenue because of its casinos.

The horse racing industry is also pushing for the legalization of Internet gambling, at least when it comes to horse race betting. In 1992, in fact, the horse racing industry pushed for a referendum that would legalize pari-mutuel betting in Utah. The proposal actually started off well but was eventually decided because of heavy opposition from the Church of Later-day Saints.

In spite of the apparent external and internal pressures, most officials doubt that Utah lawmakers would ever agree to legalize gambling themselves and, in fact, would probably put up a good fight against its legalization.