Politics in the U.S. Preventing Legalization

With the year coming to a close, the window of opportunity for legalizing online gambling may be closing with it.  Politicians don’t love to push controversial legislation right before elections, and the legalization of online casino gambling is still not a universally accepted idea.

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was signed into law back in 2006; George W. Bush was president then.  Barrack Obama has been president now for 3 years and there is no progress in sight.  While some congressmen must be given credit for fighting valiantly for the cause of an American casino online industry, it clearly wasn’t enough.  Others hoped that the state of the U.S. economy would tip the scales, though that hope was dashed as well.  The only legislation one can expect to see coming out of Congress in the next year is legislation that looks nice in a TV commercial for the election campaign.

However, not all politicians are running for reelection and therefore not everyone has to worry about commercials.  One such politician, Barney Frank, is still pushing for legalization.  He spoke at the congressional subcommittee and argued fiercely on behalf of the legalization of online poker.  Nonetheless, no one is naïve enough to believe he can do it alone.

Though politics on the national stage tend to grind any and all progress to a screeching halt, there is hope on the state level.  Anticipating the 2-4 delay still expected on Capitol Hill, the Nevada state government erected a legal licensing framework for local online gambling.  The gambling state on the other coast, New Jersey, may be next to follow suit. 

Is there still hope for use online casinos to become legal? We hope so!