Online Casinos Good News from U.S. Congress

For 15 years, the debate about the "morality" of online casinos and gambling has gone on but now it has morphed into something different. Last week, as was reported here, the House Ways and Means Committee was due to meet and consider online gambling. What was thought to be a discussion of what type of betting to allow, poker versus casino games, turned into something else.

How to Tax Online Casinos

The debate is now centering primarily on how to actually tax online casinos and those who win at the establishments. The U.S. is losing millions in possible tax revenues. Plus, the lack of online establishments being hosted by the U.S. is also a huge tax issue.

There has long been a poker lobby led by some of the top U.S. professional poker players actively courting top Democrats and Republicans to support the legalization of online poker on the basis that it is a game of skill and not chance as is the way with casino games and slots.

That movement has transformed a group of legislators from those who supported poker to those who are eager to support online casinos in general as they see a huge amount of possible tax revenue.

Opponents

Still, there will be opposition to any attempt to actually legalize online casinos for U.S. players. Some of it will come from those who are morally opposed to online casinos or gambling in general. Still, others who are against the measure are those who hold interests in land-based casinos in Nevada and Atlantic City.

Good News

Although there is a fight ahead, the fact is that it has never looked so good for online casinos in the U.S. The faltering economy and ongoing war efforts in the Middle East are also contributing factors to the new support for online gambling as the government looks for new revenue streams.