Renewed interest has been sparked in the possible regulation of internet gambling in the US, following the American Gaming Association (AGA) CEO Frank Fahrenkopf’s recent comments on the industry. This is in addition to the already troublesome economic conditions currently burdening the industry, which have given the US media another reason to give regulated internet gambling another thought. PricewaterhouseCoopers has published that the regulation of internet gambling could generate well over $9 billion from taxes and fees over the next 10 years.

According to a recently published article in the Las Vegas Sun, the AGA is hurrying to elucidate its position on internet gambling due to the changes in the US government, which it believes is likely to adopt a friendlier stance towards internet gambling. Whilst some internet gambling companies believe that federal regulation will be effective, others believe that it will attract international competition and therefore oppose it.

Similarly, the report from the Las Vegas Sun added that at last week’s Global Gaming Expo hosted internet gambling experts that found that the legalization of online poker would be the most effective form of internet gambling for politicians and the general public.

Another dilemma posed to the regulation of internet gambling is that of who will take authority over it. The current options are either federal authorities or individual states. Executive Director of the Million-Strong Poke Players Alliance, John Pappas, believes that federal regulation is the most reasonable option for it allows for both a balanced market for internet gambling operators and the choice for opposing individual states to opt-out.
Meanwhile, land-based gambling facilities have started to worry.