I agree. However, the UK model has shown gambling move from betting in shops and on location to betting online. All the UK books have had to move their online operations offshore to tax havens such as Gibraltar, Malta, etc in order to avoid tax and lower running costs. It's hard to see a US book paying US state or federal taxes along with US wages and rent and then still being able to compete with big books that don't have those costs.
Obviously my understanding of US law is very limited but my guess is the US market will be dependant on what happens to the Wire Act.