Online Gambling Grey Area?
Added: Aug. 4, 2014
Hey you already know the issue of legalizing online gambling and online casinos in particular has both proponents and opponents. Nowhere in the world is this split between those that support online gambling and all things related and those that loudly proclaim that it should be completely banned than the United States. Of course, by now you already familiar with one of the most vocal (and free spending) opponents of online casinos, none other than Sheldon Adelson. Yes, the same Sheldon Adelson who has publicly vowed to spend any amount necessary to enact federal legislation to ban so-called Internet Gambling in the U.S.
But, that may not even matter as you will see here. You see, proponents of legalizing online gambling are finding all sorts of loopholes and workarounds that might make Sheldon’s efforts a waste of time. Consider the example of the Fantasy Sports.
In case you missed out on the news, participation in Fantasy Sports has been growing year over year. In most instances, Fantasy Sports refers to a game where the participants act as owners to actually build a team that will compete against other fantasy owners. Here’s the thing, the part that makes the whole idea of Fantasy Sports work at all. The wins or losses of these fantasy teams are actually based on the real world statistics from actual players or even teams of the professional sport. Did you get all of that?
What does this have to do with online gambling? Well technically betting on Fantasy Sports is not really illegal. Not to say it’s completely legal, either. Fantasy Sports, at least at this point in time, exists in a sort of alternate universe. It’s almost like the actions of young children who protest loudly that “…you didn’t tell me I couldn’t color the walls with my crayons…”
All of that aside, the point to pay attention to here is that those in the Fantasy Sports business are already making moves to protect their turf. Much like Sheldon Adelson, the Fantasy Sports Trade Association has hired a legal firm to protect their interests should there be signs of movements toward federal legislation to ban any sort of online gambling (including of course, Fantasy Sports).
So you can see, the battle is still being fought in the United States over online gambling. Various interests are taking sides and putting their money to work. Only time will tell how this issue is finally settled.