The UIGEA Call Off Would Benefit $52 Billion for the U.S.
PricewaterhouseCoopers claim that the U.S. government could benefit significantly in the next 10 years by regulating and taxing online gambling. Their recent study had shown that by overturning UIGEA the United States could raise over $52 billion.
These $52 billion surprisingly mark quite a large increase in comparison to a similar study performed by PricewaterhouseCoopers in late 2007, which then served as a supporting argument for the Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax Enforcement Act in 2008, initiated by Rep. Jim McDermott as a companion bill for the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act - attacking Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act supported by Barney Frank. The initial study suggested that the U.S. should gain $42.8 billion in a ten-year period if the online gambling and sports betting had been regulated and taxed in all fifty states.
The spokesman of the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative, Jeffrey Sandman, told that the increased estimatthat online gambling has grown in the United States even in spite of the UIGEA. Sandman also suggests that such a growth shows that the governmental oversight on the internet gambling is significant. “There is a dramatic need to have a regulated system that protects American consumers,” Sandman said. “Right now, it’s the Wild West.”
The current study, conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, was ordered by an online payment service company, UC Group, who would definitely benefit from making online gambling in the U.S. fully legal. Such new revenue source should also encourage the American lawmakers to take advantage of it, as the government is in a grave need of new sources of income because of the recent signing of the “Stimulus Bill”.
In February the spokesperson for Rep. and Chair of the House Committee on Financial Services Barney Frank, announced the intention to “back legislation to repeal the UIGEA” in the near future. It is likely that Frank’s new bill will be introduced on the House floor in March. However, it is still unknown if any companion bill, such as IGRTEA, will also be introduced.
March 5, 2009