Online Casino Transfer: News - Florida Wants One, too

03/13/2010		Online Casino Style: News Florida Wants One, too
Home History Games News Dictionary		Yet another state is adding themselves to the list of regions looking to legalize online gambling in an effort to balance out their devastating budgets, as it was confirmed to the internet casino community this week that Florida has received a proposal that would allow an intrastate online gambling system to be installed and regulated. The bill was introduced by Florida Representative Joseph Abruzzo, with the clear measured title of Internet Poker Consumer Protection and Revenue Generation Act of 2010, following very closely in the footsteps of their western sister-state, California. The appeal of intrastate poker proposals for those state legislators vying for similar bills is its loophole quality and exclusive profits for the government. It cannot be argued that Americans actually take the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act into consideration when they play online – it simply pushes the US dollars overseas to ‘illegal’ online gambling sites. By creating intrastate poker networks that link to existing, land-based casinos, the program will create funds for Florida (or California, or New Jersey, or…) alone, without violating the UIGEA. The UIGEA stipulates only for inter-state programs, and offshore internet casino sites that still accept US business. For Floridians alone, Representative Abruzzo estimates that around 900,000 of his constituents already frequent ‘offshore’ casinos. If that business could be brought back to the state, as much as $200 million in revenue could be generated in the first year alone. The consideration has been on the table for a few months now, and as the state legislature prepared to convene, Abruzzo beat many of his fellow politicians in their attempt to get a legalization proposal on the table. His bill would establish a fully regulated system for online gambling within state lines, including strict licensing conditions and an application fee of $500,000 paid to the Pari-Mutual Wagering Trust Fund of the Department of Business and Professional Regulations of Florida. A minimum annual license fee of $1,000 in also suggested, as are pre-requisites for measures against illegal and underage gambling. The current tax rate proposed on the bill is listed as 20 percent on gross win, payable by operators on a monthly basis.

03/13/2010

Online Casino Style: News
Florida Wants One, too

Yet another state is adding themselves to the list of regions looking to legalize online gambling in an effort to balance out their devastating budgets, as it was confirmed to the internet casino community this week that Florida has received a proposal that would allow an intrastate online gambling system to be installed and regulated. The bill was introduced by Florida Representative Joseph Abruzzo, with the clear measured title of Internet Poker Consumer Protection and Revenue Generation Act of 2010, following very closely in the footsteps of their western sister-state, California.

The appeal of intrastate poker proposals for those state legislators vying for similar bills is its loophole quality and exclusive profits for the government. It cannot be argued that Americans actually take the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act into consideration when they play online – it simply pushes the US dollars overseas to ‘illegal’ online gambling sites. By creating intrastate poker networks that link to existing, land-based casinos, the program will create funds for Florida (or California, or New Jersey, or…) alone, without violating the UIGEA. The UIGEA stipulates only for inter-state programs, and offshore internet casino sites that still accept US business.

For Floridians alone, Representative Abruzzo estimates that around 900,000 of his constituents already frequent ‘offshore’ casinos. If that business could be brought back to the state, as much as $200 million in revenue could be generated in the first year alone. The consideration has been on the table for a few months now, and as the state legislature prepared to convene, Abruzzo beat many of his fellow politicians in their attempt to get a legalization proposal on the table. His bill would establish a fully regulated system for online gambling within state lines, including strict licensing conditions and an application fee of $500,000 paid to the Pari-Mutual Wagering Trust Fund of the Department of Business and Professional Regulations of Florida. A minimum annual license fee of $1,000 in also suggested, as are pre-requisites for measures against illegal and underage gambling. The current tax rate proposed on the bill is listed as 20 percent on gross win, payable by operators on a monthly basis.