US Gaming Congress on Online Gambling

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The 16th Annual East Coast Gaming Congress was held at Atlantic City on May 16 and May 17. This conference invites only proven leaders of the highest caliber to "share ideas, express concerns and articulate visions". This year online gambling legalization is a hot topic in the United States and several prominent speakers addressed the federal-states divide.

Richard Bronson, chairman of turnkey supplier US Digital Gaming, stated that the US Congress was too badly divided to be able to pass any legislation on online gambling. He said, "In a Congress that can't agree on what day it is, the thought that they're going to agree to put casino gambling in every living room in America is ridiculous." The only way out according to Bronson was for individual states to have their own laws. In fact, Bronson predicted that one or two American states will have legalized online gambling within the coming year. He named New Jersey as the most likely candidate. Bronson also pointed to the considerable commercial potential of legalized online gambling. Forty million people visited Las Vegas last year, but 40 million people visit Facebook every five days. To let such an opportunity for generating revenues, profits and taxes go is stupid.

New Jersey State Senator Ray Lesniak was also one of the speakers at the Annual East Coast Gaming Congress. He told delegates how the governor's veto of a bill that had been overwhelmingly approved by the full New Jersey Legislature is proving expensive for New Jersey. He said, "We lost a whole year and hundreds of millions of dollars that could have been coming in to our casinos in Atlantic City." Lesniak has moved another bill this year, apparently with some sort of understanding with the governor.

Eugene Johnson, from Spectrum Gaming consultancy, said that everyone is preparing to get on the online gambling bandwagon, pending legalization. Spectrum Gaming has been approached by European operators, US commercial gaming companies, Native American tribes and state lotteries. He supported Bronson's view that within a few years, state regulated online gambling will become a reality in America. Johnson called online gambling "the wave of the future" and said that gambling on mobile handsets would be particularly appealing to young gamblers. He said, "If you don't evolve with the future, you're going to be left behind."

One of the European operators that Johnson spoke about was the Irish online betting company Paddy Power. Paddy Power has set up an office in the US and is actively talking to potential American partners. Eamonn Toland, president of Paddy Power North America, was of the opinion that the online gambling market in the US will get legalized and in the near future many land-based operators will forge partnerships with online gaming companies.

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