Online Casinos Needed by Congress, Says AGA President

Fahrenkopf asserts that there may be billions in revenue for the federal government through taxation of online casinos.

The land casino industry is starting to examine options regarding online casinos. Last week, the president of the American Gaming Association offered his opinion that legalized online gambling is the future in the United States.

Frank Fahrenkopf runs the organization responsible for representing the giant casino operators. On the board of the AGA are such gambling executives as Steve Wynn, Gary Loveman of Harrah's Entertainment, and Dan Lee of Pinnacle. This group has extensively lobbied in the past to keep Internet competition at bay by banning it.

But now, giant land casino resorts are next to impossible to finance, and revenues are dropping as travel becomes too expensive for many gamblers. And a new vision is taking place at the American Gaming Association.

Fahrenkopf sees the legalization and regulation of Internet gambling as key to Congressional budgets. Fahrenkopf, who knows politics from his days as chairman of the Republican Party during the Reagan Presidency, says in an interview with the Reno Gazette, "...any Congressman or Senator who introduces a piece of legislation that is going to cost something will also have to show how they are going to pay for it, either by cutting spending in one place or raising taxes in another. So we know under those circumstances, they will be looking around at a place to get additional revenue."

Fahrenkopf asserts that there may be billions in revenue for the federal government through taxation of online casinos. And it's clear through his statements that some of his members are rethinking online gambling.

Fahrenkopf mentions that Harrah's, as owner of the World Series of Poker, would be interested in exploring Internet opportunities. And he also mentions MGM Mirage as being another company eyeing the great returns on relatively minuscule investment of online casino gambling.

The net result is that a lobby dedicated to preventing any incursions by Internet casinos now may reverse itself, pressing for online gambling as best for all concerned.