If Google Did Enter Online Gambling

If Google were to purchase an online gambling company it could result in massive changes for the industry.

Last week there were rumours that Google may be interested in buying bwin.party. While there is no evidence that the rumours are true, it does raise an interesting question of how important Google could be to a regulated US online gambling industry.

Google is the world’s second largest tech company in terms of market capitalisation, second only to Apple. Google also owns the most popular mobile platform in the world, the Android operating system which is used by over 750 million devices. If Google were to buy an online gambling company it would be able to give its users the easiest possible access to the games.

Last year Google funded over $18 million in lobbying efforts, in 1Q 2012 it spent more than Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft combined.  An online gambling lobby with Google behind it could prove to be extremely effective.

Google could also handle a state-by-state lobbying effort. Its headquarters are based in California, a key state for online gambling regulation. Online poker bills have failed to reach the legislature’s floor in the state for years; this could change if one of the state’s most influential companies had a reason to lobby lawmakers.

However, for now there is no evidence that Google is considering an online gambling company, and this all remains wishful thinking.