Online Gambling Lobby Spends $5 Million

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The BolaVerde Media Group (BVMG) has just released its latest report on the amount spent by the online gambling industry on lobbying in Washington, D.C. The Q1 Internet Gambling Federal Lobbying Report covers the first quarter of 2010, which are the months of January, February and March. The report states that 36 different parties spent a combined amount that BVMG estimates at $5.16 million.

The topmost spender was Harrah's Entertainment Inc. Harrah's expenditure on lobbying for online gambling was estimated by BVMG at $1.22 million. The report further stated that Harrah's has increased its lobbying spend by 73% from the fourth quarter of 2009. This is understandable because Harrah's has staked a lot in online gambling. It is now widely known that Harrah's does not expect to deliver profits till online gambling becomes legal in the United States. Harrah's has established a full fledged online division called Harrah's Interactive and operates an online casino and an online poker room for British players.

The next four in the top spenders list are the Poker Players Alliance at $785,000, UC Group at $717,239, U.S. Chamber of Commerce (USCC) at $664,442 and the Interactive Gaming Council at $412,580. Despite the increased spending by Harrah's the total for the first quarter of 2010 was lower by 16% from the last quarter of 2009. This is because the USCC, which was earlier the biggest spender on this list, dropped its spending by 66%.

The Q1 Internet Gambling Federal Lobbying Report is an extremely detailed one and by following how much is being spent where by which company; BVMG is able to conclude which companies are in the forefront of influencing decisions regarding online gambling in Washington. For example the report lists the companies that have continued to lobby in 2010. Prominent among these are Harrah's, Wynn Resorts, MGM Mirage, PokerStars, PartyGaming, the American Gaming Association, the National Football League and Gtech. The number of land casino representatives on this list indicates that the land casinos have now started backing the legalization of online gambling. This also explains why Nevada Representative Dina Titus has signed up as a sponsor of Barney Frank's bill. The report states that Betfair US has become a prominent spender in 2010.

Speaking at the release of the report, BVMG Managing Director Mark Balestra said, "Anyone interested in the global Internet gambling industry needs to take notice of the bigger picture in the United States, including who is plotting entry and who might be reconsidering their positions, as well as the financial weight being thrown around. In this sense, an evaluation of lobbying strategies and spending trends lends pretty good insight into how things could pan out in Washington."

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