After the Department of Justice’s dramatic announcement last Christmas that it no longer considered online casino and poker gaming as part of the Wire Act of 1961, many states have started to consider online gambling as a reality for its population and as a means to bring in much needed revenue.
According to the head of the American Gaming Association, Frank Fahrenkopf, no less than 21 states are considering online gaming options, such as the sale of lottery tickets online or the introduction of intrastate poker. Fahrenkopf said that he hoped the federal government would set standards that would protect consumers when gaming online.
The first state to sell online lottery tickets is Illinois, who launched its new service on Sunday on the new illinoislottery.com site. Players interested in purchasing tickets online need to register their credit cards and other personal information, and the sale of tickets has been capped to $100 per person per day. Experts say that the new online lottery service in Illinois has the potential to attract one million new players, which will ultimately see a huge increase in the money that the state can give to social causes.
Prof. I. Nelson Rose, who regularly comments on internet gambling in the US, said that it was his opinion that within less than a decade, we will be seeing most of the states move towards online gambling.
Utah is the only state so far which has reacted negatively to the DOJ’s announcement and recently passed a law banning online poker outright.
