COMING TO
AMERICA
regulate the industry have died after the chair of the
state’s Gaming Oversight Committee said she did not
want to bring gambling into “people’s kitchens”.
But since then, neighbouring Delaware and New
Jersey have both logged-on and industry insiders
predict a domino effect of other states scrambling to
regulate as soon as revenue figures trickle in.
The main challenge for egaming proponents in
Pennsylvania appears to be educating legislators and
regulators on the benefits of licensed online poker;
however it seems likely these difficulties will be easily
overcome when lawmakers realise the potential
tax revenues and job opportunities generated in a
regulated internet gambling industry.
WORTH THE WAIT
Illinois would represent another big opportunity
with a population of 13 million, and despite Illinois
Governor Pat Quinn’s repeated reluctance to approve
online gambling in the state, an egaming bill circulated
earlier this year is starting to build momentum. The
bill, which was initially part of a wider gambling
expansion law, has been drafted by members of the
Illinois Casino Association including bwin.party,
Caesars Entertainment, the Illinois Lottery, Senator
John Cullerton and bill sponsor Senator Terry Link.
The legislation calls for the creation of the Division of
Internet Gaming within the Illinois State Lottery, which
already proved itself to be a progressive organisation
when it began selling lotto tickets online in early 2012.
It proposed the legalisation of online poker and casino
games within the state and would allow the state’s
existing licensees to run their own gaming platforms.
The bill, which would charge operators a $20m
licence fee and sets taxes on gaming revenue between
7.5% and 20%, had initially included a measure to
block operators which accepted bets from US players
in the last 10 years, although this was subsequently
changed to only affect those convicted of doing so.
MOMENTUM BUILDING
Earlier this year New York Governor Andrew Cuomo
signed legislation permitting the construction of four
new bricks-and-mortar casinos in the state. Such
liberal and progressive attitudes towards gambling
caught the attention of the egaming industry, and led
some speculators to suggest New York may well be one
of the next states to regulate online gambling in 2014.
With a population of more than eight million
people and among the highest GDP per capita, the
market potential is certainly something the state and
operators are keen to explore.
However, sceptics say the process required to pass
egaming into law in New York is complicated at best.
Factor in the influential Native American Tribes
with their bricks-and-mortar interests, and a similar
picture to embattled California starts to emerge.
Perhaps the biggest barrier to New York legalising
online gambling is the likelihood of a state-wide
referendum required to amend the constitution in
order to permit egaming.
48
STATE
ILLINOIS
STATUS:
POPULATION (M)
GDP PER CAPITA (000s)
13M
$49.6
MARKET SIZE ($)
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
SOURCE: EILERS RESEARCH, LLC
$585
OUTSIDE CHANCE
The chances of Iowa legalising online gambling in
2014 are slim, but then the same was said of New
Jersey. Next year is election year in the Hawkeye
State, with legislators wanting a short, noncontroversial session before hitting the campaign
trail. But in the topsy-turvy egaming industry nothing
is ever certain.
Last year online gambling was a hot topic in Iowa,
with Caesars, US Digital Gaming, Isle of Capri, Prairie
Meadows, Iowa Poker Network, Wild Rose Casino,
Peninsula Gaming, Great River Entertainment, Grand
Falls Casino and Scientific Games all lobbying a draft
bill put forward by Senator Jeff Danielson.
The proposed law would permit the 21 statelicensed casinos to operate poker sites but all other
forms of online gambling would be banned. However,
momentum around legalising online gambling in the
state has since faded, with legislators not seeing it as a
priority issue. That said, if neighbouring Illinois goes
live with internet gaming next year and starts to take
casino revenue away from Iowa, expect to see egaming
become high on the agenda.
www.egrmagazine.com