Gaming Activist Says US Missing Out on Online Casino Revenue

Jeffrey Sandman of the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative said on San Francisco radio station KGO that responsible licensing of online gambling would protect consumers while creating a huge revenue source.

A leading authority on gambling law told interviewers that the US could be making over $62 billion in revenue with regulation of online casinos. Jeffrey Sandman of the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative said on San Francisco radio station KGO that responsible licensing of online gambling would protect consumers while creating a huge revenue source.

Sandman pointed out that policies grounded in prohibition have failed to either control the spread of online gambling or protect US citizens. He says that, since the end of 2007, "millions of Americans are wagering more than $100 billion" at offshore online casinos, despite the UIGEA.

Sandman hails Barney Frank's imminent bill repealing the UIGEA as advancing "a practical and enforceable framework to license and regulate Internet gambling in the US."

The pro-gambling political activist says that a regulatory bill will contain "very significant consumer protections." These would include guards against underage gambling, money laundering, identification theft, and compulsive gambling. Sandman notes that currently, all those US residents playing online are unprotected.

"Who knows what's happening offshore?" he asked, acknowledging the unregulated state of the gaming industry and the inherent dangers to US citizens.