The American Gaming Association (AGA) this week announced that it is in favour of the creation of a US Congressional commission to study the merits and detriments of allowing honest online casinos to operate under regulation in the US.
The move comes as a surprise to many honest online casino operators and gambling industry officials, as the AGA, which is the representative body for America’s land-based gambling companies, has for a long time kept to its stance of neutrality on the issue of honest online casinos.
The president of the AGA reportedly stated that the association is now strongly pushing for Congress to create an evaluation commission to study the real effects of honest online casinos and to put forward recommendations as to whether internet gambling and honest online casinos should be outlawed or not in the US.
President and Chief Executive of the AGA Frank Fahrenkopf Jr. reportedly confirmed that last week’s board meeting had come to the resolution that the association will strongly support a year-long Congressional commission to study and evaluate the impacts of online gambling.
Until now the AGA has remained staunchly neutral on the issue of honest online casinos, and has declined to offer any comment on pending legislation regarding the issue of internet gambling, such as new bills on the table that will make internet gambling illegal in any form.
The AGA’s about-turn could have the effect of impacting current moves to ban honest online casinos in the US, with the findings of any independent investigation projected to be extremely influential on legislative bodies. This could lead to a positive outcome for the push to create blanket legislation, something that has been proving difficult in recent times.
Part of the difficulty is that while the US Department of Justice maintains that all internet gambling and honest online casinos are illegal in the US, it still allows for interstate betting on horse races, a contradiction kept in force largely due to the strong lobbying power of American sports betting associations. Not only that, honest online casinos are currently a $12 billion industry worldwide, half of which comes from US clients. All of this $6 billion is going untaxed out of the US, and the Department of Justice has, so far, been largely helpless in stopping the flow.
The new shift in the AGA’s stance could ultimately lead to trusted, big name American honest online casino brands beginning a regulated US internet gambling market.
Issues the commission should take into account when considering honest online casinos, include protecting children from gambling and problem gamblers, as well as considering the feasibility of effectively legislating honest online casinos in the US.
Another consideration is that recent rulings passed down by the WTO regards the US’s position regarding honest online casinos is in violation of international trade laws.
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