"The goal, at the end of the day, is to provide the same experience for a player no matter where he's physically located . . . whether inside a casino, on a website, or while waiting in line at the grocery store," said Bally spokesman Mike Trask. He said the company wanted to provide mobile apps, mobile games, and online games the same way it has provided games and systems to brick-and-mortar casinos.
Although online gambling is illegal in the United States, an estimated 16 million Americans engage in it, wagering more than $6 billion a year on offshore websites. These sites are out of the reach of U.S. law enforcement and are not taxed by the U.S. government.
The loss of millions of dollars in gaming revenue and the jobs that come with it are reasons Internet gambling should be legal in this country, say its advocates. Several bills on the issue are before Congress.
There is no shortage of outrage and opposition to Internet gambling, much of it centered on concerns it will place the most vulnerable population at even more risk than it faces today.
"Legalizing Internet gambling would allow government to open a casino in every home, dorm room, and office in America, 24 hours a day, seven days a week," said Les Bernal, executive director of Stop Predatory Gambling, a nonprofit group based in Washington that works with local, state, and federal groups to oppose casinos and state lotteries. E-gaming "represents one of the purest forms of predatory gambling."
