At the present time it is illegal to perform online gambling in the United States.  It is illegal to run an internet casino from within the territory of the United States and it is illegal to gamble in that illegal internet casino.  Does anyone see the flaw in this plan yet?  That’s right; although most major online casinos base their operations outside of the United States (and some have even moved to London after the British government in the last two years made online gambling perfectly legal) there are simply millions of Americans who continue to their online gambling. For Americans who don’t live near an American casino, they must turn elsewhere for gambling entertainment — from horse racing betting to free backgammon — legal or not.

It seems to be a situation that is ripe for regulation and that could very well be the way that the industry is going to go in the near future.  The presence of a Presidential election on the horizon might delay efforts, but there seems to be an acceptance and an acknowledgment that online gambling needs regulating.  I feel that there are two main reasons for this.  The first is that the online gambling industry is a multi-billion dollar one and if it were regulated properly, or even at all, a percentage of that money would be filtered into the government’s coffers (and let’s face it, they could really do with the cash right now).  Another reason is that even though it’s currently illegal, there is still a significant percentage of the population who participate in online gambling.  I don’t get the sense that online gambling is one of those activities that just because it was made legal, would necessarily lead to a reduction of people participating, because their raison d’etre is the thrill of doing something illicit and illegal.