Online Gambling in US Grows Despite UIGEA Ban
An investment company that follows gambling trends reports that online casinos will generate about $25 billion in revenue by 2010, an increase of almost fourteen percent over current figures. Approximately fifty percent of that figure, over $12 billion, will come from US patrons, says Christiansen Capital Advisors.
The dominant percentage of US business comes despite attempts by US lawmakers to prevent citizens from playing at online casinos. The passing of the UIGEA in 2006 placed a ban on payment transactions to Internet gambling sites, and caused many online casinos to withdraw from the US market.
Yet, astoundingly, the ban has failed so miserably that US players make up almost as large a share of the gaming industry marketplace as they did before the legal harassment began. A December 2002 report by the US General Accounting Office noted that "U.S. customers are reported to constitute anywhere from 50 to 70 percent of total operator revenues from Internet gambling."
So, after two years of the UIGEA, endless expensive investigations and persecutions of online casino operators, and attempts to deny US residents basic rights and freedoms, it can clearly be seen that the major effect of the Internet gambling prohibition is to clog the US financial system and drive out reputable operators, leaving consumers unprotected from criminal casino concerns.
The potential revenue for the US through proper regulation practically demands that Congressional leaders address this dysfunctional mishap as soon as possible.
