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Online Gambling News Items From USA

Online Gambling News Items From USA

Added: March 17, 2014

There has been some news on online gambling in the USA, both at the national level and in some states. There is no likelihood of any imminent legislation but pressure is being built up.

The Coalition for Consumer and Online Protection (CCOP) is a pro-online gambling legalization action group that till now worked through op-ed articles and guest speakers. It has now spent $250,000 towards paid advertising in its first phase of expansion. The thrust was two-fold. One was to highlight the advantages of federally legalized online gambling and the other to halt any Congressional attempt to ban online gambling. Online and print advertisements were placed in publications like the Las Vegas Review-Journal, The Washington Post and The Hill in Washington DC. CCOP has been formed by MGM, the Poker Players Alliance and the American Gaming Association. CCOP spokeswoman Kristen Hawn says the Coalition is working on a second phase in its advertising campaign but that in the meantime would continue its other activities.

In the state of Pennsylvania a commission tasked by the Senate Legislative Budget and Finance Committee will table its report on online gambling next week. The panel was set up in December 2013. The report is expected to comment on the health of the casino industry in Pennsylvania and whether online gambling would eat into the business of land casinos. Pennsylvania’s neighbors New Jersey and Delaware have legalized online gambling and there is pressure on the state legislators to follow suit. Pennsylvania Representative Mario Scavello will also take a close look at the findings and then decide whether to introduce his bill that seeks to ban and criminalize online gambling at player level in the state.

There is good news from Delaware, where the regulator has reported a meaningful growth in the online gambling market for the first time. In February 2014 intrastate online gambling operations went up 13% on the preceding month. The absolute numbers are still small. The number of registered players increased by 693 in February, to 5,689. The increase in January was higher at 1,006. The regulator further reported that table games were the main driver of the increased volumes. Blackjack and roulette registered a three-fold increase in February as compared to the increase in January. The increase in the online slots and video poker categories was less than the increase in the previous month, while there was a decrease in the online poker business.