When the tides of change swept Washington D. C. in November of 2008 with the presidential election, there were many areas that Americans believed would be altered. While not foremost on the minds of most elected officials, one of those policies considered for change is the legislation on online gaming and poker. An article in Monday’s New York Times offers that the time for discussions about legalizing and regulating the online gaming and poker industry could be now.
The article, entitled “A New Chance For Online Gambling In The U. S.” and written by New York Times writer Eric Pfanner in the Technology section of the paper, is an excellent recount of the history of the discussion on online gaming and how it has not only affected the United States but companies worldwide. Pfanner accurately points out how, when the Bush administration enacted the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in 2006, several companies that were freely traded on many foreign stock exchanges and had accepted regulation of their industry were forced out of the U. S. market. This left it open to companies that, while solid members of the online gaming and poker markets, were located in areas of the world that lacked the regulation required by other nations.
Pfanner reports that one of the stalwarts of the regulation movement, Massachusetts Representative Barney Frank, could be “days away” from proposing the key legislation that would overturn the UIGEA. Frank made the same efforts in 2007 but was quashed by the administration in power as well as major lobbying efforts from the National Football League and the Christian Coalition. This time around, Pfanner reports, there is a more open-minded administration under President Obama and the Democrats have a firm control on both houses of Congress, opening up the possibility of regulation.
As expected, there is a great deal of posturing on both sides of the debate. In Pfanner’s article, Clive Hawkswood, one of the chief executives of the trade group Remote Gambling Association in London, states, “I’d be amazed if it didn’t happen over the next two or three years. It’s just a question of what exactly the regulations will say.” Others, such as spokeswoman Michele Combs of the Christian Coalition, are mobilizing their forces to mount an anti-gaming campaign and maintain the status quo.
Perhaps the most surprising voice in the opposition to the legalization and regulation of online gaming and poker is none other than Las Vegas billionaire Steve Wynn. According to Pfanner’s article Wynn – who created the poker destinations of the Mirage, the Bellagio and the Wynn Hotel – stated that the online world would be impossible to regulate. He is quoted in the article as saying via e-mail, “Even though it would be a benefit to our company, we are strongly opposed.”
Also mentioned in Pfanner’s examination of the online gaming and poker world is how Europe handles the industry. He discusses how England has enacted gaming regulation successfully but also demonstrates that other nations, such as Germany, Greece and the Netherlands, aren’t as willing to enact regulation because it would affect their state-run gaming operations. While Europe and other nations have been active in trying to enforce free trade rights in the U. S. through the World Trade Organization, Pfanner surmises at the end of the article that these nations should figure out how they want to handle the issue between their own borders before attacking the United States.
While there has been a great deal of change in different legislative arenas of the U. S. – both good and bad – Pfanner’s work details out the difficulties and politics of the online gaming and poker question not only in America but also around the world. Regulation of the industry would generate a sizeable amount of revenue for the U. S., but whether online poker players are any closer to the freedom of playing the game without rebuke is still a burning question.
