2012 just may be the year of the Online Gambling Spring

 

In the world-at-large, 2011 was the year of the Arab Spring; it was a year where social unrest spread, not just within the Arab world, but to many (some would say most) of the countries developed world also.  The Arab Spring will define 2011 for a long-time; when something as significant as the Arab Spring happens, and dominates international news for a whole year, one is tempted to speculate: “what will next year bring?”  Can anything top that?  Not likely, 2011 was a very unique year, probably not since end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century has the world since as much social unrest in one year.  It certainly has led me to wonder more than once about 2012, to wonder about major world events that might occur.  It also has me wondering what significant events might there be for the gaming industry next year.  For while social discontent was spreading around in 2011, so was gaming and it will continue to spread in 2012 – but that is not what is going to define the year for gaming – online gaming will.  Here is my prediction – 2012 is the year online gambling gets going for real in the U. S.

 “We conclude that the Criminal Division’s premise is incorrect and that the Wire Act prohibits only the transmission of communications related to bets or wagers on sporting events or contests.” United States Department of Justice, 12-24-11

 As 2011 ends, Florida, New York and Massachusetts are threatening to bring the gaming industry to a whole new level – and until recently that seemed like really big news – not an Arab Spring kind of big, but big never-the-less.

And then out of the blue, catching the whole industry off guard, the Department of Justice decided to send a Christmas gift to gamblers across the land. On Friday, December 24, 2011 the Department of Justice issued an opinion that the Federal Wire Act, regardless of any enforcement actions taken in the past 50 years, applies only to sports betting.  So, in 2012, all bets are off.  States can certainly allow online gaming within the state as Nevada, District of Columbia, Illinois, California and New York plan to do; in fact with three days of the opinion being released, Illinois announced plans to move forward with its online lottery.

It gets better, it appears that any state with gaming, and at this point only Hawaii and Utah have none, can make arrangements with another state with gaming so the citizens of both states can make online wagers in games based in the other state.  So with a set of reciprocal agreements, between the states, citizens of every state in the union, except Hawaii and Utah, will be able to gamble online – on anything but sports.

Congress is now off the hook, there is now no need for federal legislation, regulation and consequently no federal taxation either.  The states are free to regulate online gaming themselves and tax it – wow!  Thank you Uncle Sam and a Merry Christmas to you too.  So there you have it, 2012 will be the year of the Online Gambling Spring – sprung strait from the Department of Justice. Okay, it will not change the world the way the Arab Spring is changing it, but in my little professional world, the DoJ’s action may be prove to be just as significant.