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American Gaming Association Reviews Online Casino Policy
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA --
The American Gaming Association will review its policy regarding online gambling when representatives meet this weekend, said Frank Fahrenkopf, the group's president. The AGA represents land-based casino companies.
In the past, the casino conglomerates of Las Vegas have strictly opposed any hint of the recognition or regulation of Internet casinos. Online gambling sites were viewed as competition, and the AGA has lobbied to keep these venues from doing business in the United States.
However, Fahrenkopf has indicated a new outlook might be forthcoming. Land casinos have found their favorite pastime, building impossibly expensive new casinos, interrupted by the frozen credit market and the struggling economy.
Further, the AGA sees the reality that Congress is preparing to legalize and regulate online gambling. Bills by Barney Frank, Jim McDermott, Pete Sessions, and Shelley Berkley all have begun the process of repudiating the UIGEA and establishing Internet gambling regulation.
So, faced with the inevitable arrival of regulated online casinos to the American market, and needing a new way to continue to expand revenues, the casino giants are considering easing their opposition to online wagering.
Still, Fahrenkopf notes a major sticking point is the jurisdiction of regulation. Many of his constituents prefer state regulation to federal. They correctly point out that states such as Nevada and New Jersey have a long history of regulation and scrutiny of gambling institutions, while the Treasury Department has none.
Some may argue that this close relationship with certain states is exactly the reason for federal regulation. But the point is that land casino companies are planning for the future, and they seem to have adopted a model which will most likely spread their brand recognition to the Internet, rather than fight the incoming tide.
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