If Congressman Barney Frank's initiative to legalize Internet Gambling via his bill H.R. 2046 online gambling will become a reality in the United States.
Knowing the future Internet gambling industry may open up, several major players that are land-based casinos are now contemplating how they will enter this fruitful business to become a major player.
Frank's bill, which seeks to effectively reverse the UIGEA, which Congress passed last year, offers comprehensive regulation, taxation and controls to prevent underage and compulsive gambling.
"If an adult in this country, with his or her own money wants to engage in an activity that harms no one, how dare we prohibit it? Adults are entitled to do with their money what they want," Frank said about the issue.
Under current law, banks and credit card companies are made to be enforcers of the law. They are forced to determine which internet transactions involve gambling and they must block them, effectively making banks and credit card processors a new generation of internet police.
Under Frank's proposal, casino giants such as MGM and the Sands, among others, will likely enter the market in a big way.
MGM/Mirage Senior Vice President, Alan Feldman said about opening up an Internet casino - should the US legalize the industry, "We would do so as quickly as we could, we would have it up and running within a year. And I have to believe that just about everyone will get involved at some level. All the major players."
Disney Corporation may also get involved; it seems a natural with them. Disney owns ESPN and currently, that station provides widespread coverage of poker tournaments and is fully dedicated to sporting events. Although Disney's focus is family orientation, it does have subsidiaries that cater to adult entertainment.
Feldman clarified his statement by further offering, "All major entertainment companies will get involved, too. Sony, Apple, Universal, Columbia, Time Warner. It just seems logical that at some point they would find their way into the industry."
MGM/Mirage owns and operates about a dozen major Las Vegas casinos and more at other venues, and previously made an attempt at online gambling in the British Isles which was open to people everywhere except the United States. Feldman said that attempt failed due to U.S. law.
Feldman predicted that with only 30% of the worldwide market available, it was not profitable to continue. With the U.S. market being available under Frank’s proposal, "It would be profitable."
If the bill passes, MGM/Mirage plans to operate its internet casino from Nevada. "That's the point of the bill, for the home state to get the tax benefits," added Feldman.
The Las Vegas Sands, which owns the Venetian casino in Las Vegas, last year announced plans last year to open an internet casino this year that would cater only to the United Kingdom. The company's attention is turning toward the more lucrative U.S. market as the potential new law progresses.
Sands spokesman, Ron Reese said, "We see it as another opportunity to grow our business."
Several casino representatives from other land-based casinos have made similar statements, but chose to remain anonymous for fear of tipping their hand about their own plans.
Senator Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., co-sponsor of the UIGEA has spoken out against Frank's bill. "Online poker is currently the most addictive form of gambling activity among American youth, online poker players are more likely to exhibit problem gambling symptoms than other types of gamblers, and over half of the young people who gamble on the internet display signs of problem gambling," he said, although those assumptions are based on his own opinion and not backed by any kind of research or evidence. In fact the research says the exact opposite.
Senator Kyl, and other right wing moralists demonstrate the need for Congresswoman Shelly Berkley's bill to conduct a thorough study on the impact internet gambling will have, to be undertaken.
"It is important to put the facts into the public domain so that, once and forever, those that oppose this issue based on faulty accusations, moral standards and inaccurate data, can be better advised," said Gordon Price, an industry analyst.
Knowing the future Internet gambling industry may open up, several major players that are land-based casinos are now contemplating how they will enter this fruitful business to become a major player.
Frank's bill, which seeks to effectively reverse the UIGEA, which Congress passed last year, offers comprehensive regulation, taxation and controls to prevent underage and compulsive gambling.
"If an adult in this country, with his or her own money wants to engage in an activity that harms no one, how dare we prohibit it? Adults are entitled to do with their money what they want," Frank said about the issue.
Under current law, banks and credit card companies are made to be enforcers of the law. They are forced to determine which internet transactions involve gambling and they must block them, effectively making banks and credit card processors a new generation of internet police.
Under Frank's proposal, casino giants such as MGM and the Sands, among others, will likely enter the market in a big way.
MGM/Mirage Senior Vice President, Alan Feldman said about opening up an Internet casino - should the US legalize the industry, "We would do so as quickly as we could, we would have it up and running within a year. And I have to believe that just about everyone will get involved at some level. All the major players."
Disney Corporation may also get involved; it seems a natural with them. Disney owns ESPN and currently, that station provides widespread coverage of poker tournaments and is fully dedicated to sporting events. Although Disney's focus is family orientation, it does have subsidiaries that cater to adult entertainment.
Feldman clarified his statement by further offering, "All major entertainment companies will get involved, too. Sony, Apple, Universal, Columbia, Time Warner. It just seems logical that at some point they would find their way into the industry."
MGM/Mirage owns and operates about a dozen major Las Vegas casinos and more at other venues, and previously made an attempt at online gambling in the British Isles which was open to people everywhere except the United States. Feldman said that attempt failed due to U.S. law.
Feldman predicted that with only 30% of the worldwide market available, it was not profitable to continue. With the U.S. market being available under Frank’s proposal, "It would be profitable."
If the bill passes, MGM/Mirage plans to operate its internet casino from Nevada. "That's the point of the bill, for the home state to get the tax benefits," added Feldman.
The Las Vegas Sands, which owns the Venetian casino in Las Vegas, last year announced plans last year to open an internet casino this year that would cater only to the United Kingdom. The company's attention is turning toward the more lucrative U.S. market as the potential new law progresses.
Sands spokesman, Ron Reese said, "We see it as another opportunity to grow our business."
Several casino representatives from other land-based casinos have made similar statements, but chose to remain anonymous for fear of tipping their hand about their own plans.
Senator Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., co-sponsor of the UIGEA has spoken out against Frank's bill. "Online poker is currently the most addictive form of gambling activity among American youth, online poker players are more likely to exhibit problem gambling symptoms than other types of gamblers, and over half of the young people who gamble on the internet display signs of problem gambling," he said, although those assumptions are based on his own opinion and not backed by any kind of research or evidence. In fact the research says the exact opposite.
Senator Kyl, and other right wing moralists demonstrate the need for Congresswoman Shelly Berkley's bill to conduct a thorough study on the impact internet gambling will have, to be undertaken.
"It is important to put the facts into the public domain so that, once and forever, those that oppose this issue based on faulty accusations, moral standards and inaccurate data, can be better advised," said Gordon Price, an industry analyst.