Trade Debate Over Online Casino Rules Precedes Bill
As the anticipation toward Barney Frank's proposal to regulate Internet gambling builds, parties are already firing advance salvos as to what the new rules should be. European online casino operators are watching for even the slightest hint of US protectionism, while some land-based gaming operators are preparing a push for favorite son status.“I’d be amazed if it didn’t happen over the next two or three years. It’s just a question of what exactly the regulations will say,” Clive Hawkswood, Remote Gaming Association CEO told the New York Times about online gambling regulation in the US.
Hawkswood's organization is a major complainant in the European Commission's investigation into US discriminatory trade practices, particularly in relation to prosecutions of Internet casino operators while online gambling is permitted under US companies. The RGA is prepared to raise trouble if its members are once again dealt a rigged hand by US authorities.
But gaming market analyst Nick Batram feels any regulation effort will feel pressure to create US jobs and prop up faltering US gambling companies.
“It’s my feeling that even if the market were opened up, the U.S. government, in a palatable way, would probably find a way to give local companies a favorable position,” Batram said.
Some think that US lawmakers will use the criminal investigations into offshore gaming sites as a way to justify protectionist policy for US casino operators. Only a select few, such as PartyGaming, have cleared up old disagreements and could claim clean records for licensing.
Other companies continue to position themselves with a meld of US brand power and European experience. Harrah's Entertainment notably hired ex-PartyGaming CEO Mitch Garber to run its new Internet division, packaged with the World Series of Poker brand.
Yet land-based companies are of a variety of opinions on online gambling.
“Even though it would be a benefit to our company, we are strongly opposed,” says Steve Wynn of Wynn Resorts.
As has been seen in gaming law throughout the US, legal changes are as much about who gets control as actual legalization.
