Despite the rejection for legalised online gambling in California, UK and US gambling companies remain optimistic that the laws will eventually pass which will allow for Californian’s to gamble online. Although it is likely that sports betting will be the first to be legalised, many perceive that casino gambling won’t be far behind.
Prior to 2018, there was a country-wide ban of online gambling in the USA. However, in 2018, a supreme court judge ruling changed the laws. Now, US states can decide for themselves whether they should legalise online betting.
Following the UK Approach
The United Kingdom’s government’s approach to online gambling is drastically different from the US approach and has been since 2005. The 2005 Gambling Act proceeded to legalise gambling in the UK under the regulation of the UK government and specifically the gambling watchdog known as the United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC). The Act gave UK citizens the opportunity to gamble to their hearts content whilst also providing a sizable tax return for the government.
However, not all is smooth on the UK front. The current 2005 Gambling Act is being re-written as in current state, it is deemed as being ‘behind the times’. In 2005, the landscape was different, online casinos and online betting websites were nowhere near as prevalent as they are today. Therefore, the law is being updated so that it can more encompass the modern age.
American Companies with British Minds
Despite the landscape change in Britain, US companies are already hiring experienced professionals who have already worked within the British and European gambling sphere. As a matter of fact, American gambling companies have already begun purchasing British ones in the effort to collect the knowledge they need for when the US gambling markets open.
The British industry is worth tens of billions per year, it is estimated that betting in California alone will eclipse this number and American companies want to be able to take advantage of this as soon as they are allowed to do so. The largest British gambling companies such as Entain, Flutter and Bet365 have already opened bookmakers in the USA. These British bookmakers already have established sign up bonuses for new online casino players, and have everything in place to begin overnight. This initiated US gambling giants Caesars Entertainment to begin buying British intelligence on the subject. They purchased one of Britain’s oldest bookmakers, William Hill.
What Must Change before the Floodgates Open?
There was an expectation that the US government may have given online gambling the green light following the pandemic in order to generate tax revenue. According to the National Institute of Health, the total cost of the pandemic is estimated at $16 trillion, 90% of the annual GDP of the United States. This blackhole is still expected to cause as yet untold consequences to the vast majority of Americans. Despite this, the majority of American officials are still opposed to the freedom of online gambling.
If the majority of Americans are in favour of being able to gamble online, then it may come apparent that politicians would enact laws opening up gambling in return for votes. However, both Republican and Democratic parties seem to be pretty united in not allowing online gambling to be legalised. In addition, even if the market opened, any operator or affiliate wishing to enter the USA would need to pay for a licence to do so.
Licenses Would Not be a Stumbling Point
License fees certainly won’t scare off the biggest companies from overseas. Denise Coates is the owner of Bet365 and for several years running, she has been the largest tax payer in the UK. Her family is worth over $1 billion so license fees will not be about to put her off entering the US market.
Some of the other huge UK gambling conglomerates won’t be put off by any license fees either.
