Online Casino Transfer: News - Rhode Island vies for Sports Betting

01/26/2010		Online Casino Style: News Rhode Island Vies for Sports Betting
Home History Games News Dictionary		Though Congressman Frank’s bill to overturn the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act still has a lot of ground to cover before it becomes law, there are certain elements to the blanket ban on internet gambling that are already under fire, from states like Delaware, New Jersey, and now Rhode Island. The bill from the latter, Rhode Island, asks to have the prohibition against sports betting lifted, allowing bets to be made on professional sports in order to raise revenue for the government. Bill S.2028 has been presented to the Senate Constitutional & Regulatory Issues Committees, authored by Senators John J Tassoni Jr, John F McBurney III, and James E Doyle II. The trio claims that not only is the ban on sports betting antiquated, held in place by the 1993 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (which keeps state and local governments from authorizing betting, with the sole exception of the state of Nevada) but that it does no good, redirecting the potential business to online gambling sites instead. Introduced on January 13th, their proposal would allow bets on sports in Rhode Island, bringing in much needed tax dollars, as well as enticing growth in their state tourism. As support for their case, the Senators include statistics of the potential money that could be made, showing that the state of Nevada managed to pull in $81.5 million on last year’s Super Bowl alone, and some numbers show that to be a mere 1 percent of the nation’s total sports betting potential, with the other 99 percent being redirected to foreign, offshore online gambling websites. The event still managed to attract some 287,000 to Las Vegas to play witness to the game, as well. According to the National Gambling Impact Study Commission, illegal sports betting in the US generates revenues up to $380 billion annual, funds that would be better harnessed domestically.

01/26/2010

Online Casino Style: News
Rhode Island Vies for Sports Betting

Though Congressman Frank’s bill to overturn the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act still has a lot of ground to cover before it becomes law, there are certain elements to the blanket ban on internet gambling that are already under fire, from states like Delaware, New Jersey, and now Rhode Island. The bill from the latter, Rhode Island, asks to have the prohibition against sports betting lifted, allowing bets to be made on professional sports in order to raise revenue for the government.

Bill S.2028 has been presented to the Senate Constitutional & Regulatory Issues Committees, authored by Senators John J Tassoni Jr, John F McBurney III, and James E Doyle II. The trio claims that not only is the ban on sports betting antiquated, held in place by the 1993 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (which keeps state and local governments from authorizing betting, with the sole exception of the state of Nevada) but that it does no good, redirecting the potential business to online gambling sites instead. Introduced on January 13th, their proposal would allow bets on sports in Rhode Island, bringing in much needed tax dollars, as well as enticing growth in their state tourism.

As support for their case, the Senators include statistics of the potential money that could be made, showing that the state of Nevada managed to pull in $81.5 million on last year’s Super Bowl alone, and some numbers show that to be a mere 1 percent of the nation’s total sports betting potential, with the other 99 percent being redirected to foreign, offshore online gambling websites. The event still managed to attract some 287,000 to Las Vegas to play witness to the game, as well. According to the National Gambling Impact Study Commission, illegal sports betting in the US generates revenues up to $380 billion annual, funds that would be better harnessed domestically.