Unregulated Online Casinos Forcing Alaskan Gambling Law Changes
Alaska is considering creating a state gaming commission, in part as a way to increase gambling revenue that the state taxes. Representatives of the group Alaskans for Gaming Reform assert that the measure instituting the commission is necessary, as the state loses significant revenue to online casinos because the gambling presently available cannot compete.
Even though the UIGEA has attempted to ban online gambling from the U.S., Internet casinos are readily available to those who seek them. The major effect of the federal law has been to remove any safety standards, as many of the honorable and aboveboard gambling sites have withdrawn from the market, leaving the online casino industry a Wild West shootout.
Consumers have no protection from the unscrupulous websites, and states and the federal government lose out on what could be an enormous revenue source. Alaska and other states are forced to react by loosening their own gambling environment, put into a war of escalation with online casinos just to keep tax revenues flowing.
The goals legislators had in mind when passing the UIGEA may be admirable goals: reduction of problem gambling, safety of patrons, protection of minors. Unfortunately, none of these goals is properly served by the ban. However, regulation would go a long way to reaching these goals. And taxation with regulation of online casinos would prevent states like Alaska from having to worry about lost revenues. Seems simple, doesn't it?
