As I understand it, two bills are before the senate as I write. Each of them outlaws funding offshore gambling accounts with any financial tool found in America…
The senate has yet to vote on these bills. If they do, it is supposedly expected they will pass, although there is some opposition from the Native American lobby about the bills’ implications for their gambling operations.
If this all goes through (worst case scenario) I think the market will definately contract.
This will mean that there will be some crowding out of any potential newcomers to the online casinos industry by those who already have firm ground…These are the big players like Casino On Net, Captain Cooks, and the few affiliates that rake in 4 and 5 digit returns each month.
I think more effort will be placed on foreign gambling opportunities….
Also, ways of “getting around” the US laws will be explored, I’m sure…
My hope is that there is no vote…that each bill dies…I realize there are issues with online gambling, but these pale to the government’s curtailing of our freedom to choose what leisure activities we wish to engage in, and where we do so (which is, afterall, offshore and not technically breaking any US law).
http://www.profreedom.com is a good site for more on this…
I think the happy medium will be allowing online gambling from the US to continue with US casino regulation and taxation. It’s hard to say no to a new source of government revenue….