The ongoing action at online casino sites, and the growing online gambling industry is starting to interest land based gambling operators in the United States. Many land based gambling groups are showing interest in gaining access to the online casino gambling audience, although they are stating that they aren't losing customers to offshore companies. Representative for MGM Mirage, the world's second largest gaming operator, said that the online casino industry represents an enormous opportunity.
It's not surprising that land based operators are interested in online casino business. The online casino industry has shown worldwide revenue of $12 billion last year, and it is expected to reach $24 billion by 2010. The number of American players at online casino sites has doubled since 2005, and many new players are registering at online gambling sites every day.
It's an absurd state of affairs where all the money invested by American players at online casino sites goes to offshore countries, but as for now online casino gambling is illegal thanks to an outdated federal law from 1961. The law forbids interstate telephone betting in the U.S. and it reflects on the Internet as well. Lately the land based gambling community has started to pressure politicians to pursue online casino regulation instead of legislation, and it seems that this new interest coming from land based operators might prove to be beneficial. |
