Goldman Sachs Tells Investors Online Gambling Coming to US
Investment firm Goldman Sachs told its clients to expect regulated, legal online gambling in the US sooner rather than later. The company wrote a note saying the implications of the potential revenue windfall will cause the passage of regulation, being more than lawmakers can afford to turn away.
The report noted that, by using statistics from PartyGaming, the firm can estimate that the existing poker market alone is capable of generating over $1.5 billion. Goldman Sachs says the total possible stake for the US, by maximizing gaming and revenue created, may be as high as $12 billion or more annually.
As others have noted, the analysts advised that the federal process may still take some time, a thought vindicated by this week's postponement of Barney Frank's bill to regulate online gambling, which was pushed back to a September committee hearing. Supporters, including the Poker Players Association, had expected the review to begin as soon as next week.
OCA gaming analyst Sherman Bradley noted that the revenue potential has been clear for years.
"PricewaterhouseCoopers found last winter that the Internet gambling ban is costing the US as much as $52 billion over the next three years in lost revenue," says Bradley. "Every day that passes is money that will never be recovered."
And Bradley notes that the figures keep rising, as underground play at online casinos continues to increase despite the UIGEA ban.
"The Pricewaterhouse study resulted in revenue estimates almost a quarter higher than those found in a study by them eighteen months earlier, because of the rising popularity of Internet gaming," the analyst notes.
