The critically acclaimed CBS news show called "60 Minutes" that aired on this passing Sunday has raised the topic of taxing online casinos in exchange for allowing them to operate on US soil. Currently, the majority of those who gamble at online casino sites reside in North America. Unlike land based casinos, the country sees no revenues, since it can't tax them. Given the murky legal status of the online gambling industry in the US, the show raised the possibility of legalizing online casino sites in exchange for being able to tax them.
Online gambling is a multi-billion dollar industry, which can produce billions in tax dollar. Analysts say that had US authorities legalized the online casino industry, it would have collected more than $1.2 billion in tax revenues. This money would have then been divided among all the different states. Implementing such a plan will be extremely difficult since it would require new legislation approving gambling in states where casino gambling of any kind is banned by law.
There is also the problem of convincing online casino operators to relocate their operation in the US. These days, the majority of online casino operators are residing in places like Gibraltar, where the tax regime is extremely lenient. Will they be willing to forgo a large chunk of their revenues for legal status? Probably they would, since it will bring more people to the online casino which will make up for the lost profits.
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