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Posted at 09:36 PM on Monday, Jan. 17, 2011
By Bill McEwen / The Fresno Bee
Moral arguments against legalized gambling have been all but forgotten -- the inevitable result of churches profiting from bingo, states using lotteries to prop up public education and millions of people plunking down dollars for entertainment and a sucker's chance of winning.
But political questions still accompany legalized gambling. And, for our cash-starved state government, the next frontier is online poker.
Americans play Internet poker using offshore websites to the tune of $4 billion a year even though such wagering became illegal when Congress passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in 2006.
Under this legislation, however, individual states may allow residents to play online poker games within their borders. New Jersey jumped first at the opportunity. Its legislature recently sent a bill legalizing online poker to Gov. Chris Christie.
The economics are murky because most online poker sites are privately owned. But an analysis paid for by a coalition of state tribes and card rooms estimated that 489,000 Californians play online poker. The report -- done by consultants that included Tim Gage, a former state finance director -- suggests that California would reap $1 billion in fees and taxes over 10 years through legalized online poker. And a poll conducted last month by Tulchin Research indicates that two in three California voters want online poker taxed and regulated.
Read more: Legal online poker on its way - Bill McEwen - fresnobee.com
By Bill McEwen / The Fresno Bee
Moral arguments against legalized gambling have been all but forgotten -- the inevitable result of churches profiting from bingo, states using lotteries to prop up public education and millions of people plunking down dollars for entertainment and a sucker's chance of winning.
But political questions still accompany legalized gambling. And, for our cash-starved state government, the next frontier is online poker.
Americans play Internet poker using offshore websites to the tune of $4 billion a year even though such wagering became illegal when Congress passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in 2006.
Under this legislation, however, individual states may allow residents to play online poker games within their borders. New Jersey jumped first at the opportunity. Its legislature recently sent a bill legalizing online poker to Gov. Chris Christie.
The economics are murky because most online poker sites are privately owned. But an analysis paid for by a coalition of state tribes and card rooms estimated that 489,000 Californians play online poker. The report -- done by consultants that included Tim Gage, a former state finance director -- suggests that California would reap $1 billion in fees and taxes over 10 years through legalized online poker. And a poll conducted last month by Tulchin Research indicates that two in three California voters want online poker taxed and regulated.
Read more: Legal online poker on its way - Bill McEwen - fresnobee.com