Our neighbours to the South have had quite a difficult time with the process of legalizing online gambling. Despite the American Department of Justice giving states the ‘okay’ to launch their own online gambling websites, state governments have been unable to agree on how to move forward. As such, it has been months before any state has been able to legislate online gambling, but one has finally made some progress.
It has recently been announced that Delaware will become the first state to launch its own online casino. The state hopes to bring the site online by January 2013, and will have quite a lot of work to do until then. However, the hardest part seems to finally be over, as most states are having trouble getting online gambling bills through the legislative process.
The Gaming Competitiveness Act of 2012 was passed last week and signed by Governor Jack Markell. This occasion followed a vote in Senate, which passed by a marginal acceptance. Many politicians in the state believe that online gambling would bring social ills along with it; however, they were outnumbered by politicians who believe that it is better to regulate the activity than force players to offshore online gambling websites. Delaware also believes that the site will put the state at a competitive advantage over its neighbour, Pennsylvania, which attracts Delaware residents to its land-based casinos.
Illinois is the only other state in America that has made any sort of progressive in the online gambling market. The state recently launched its own online lottery retailer. While the site does not offer any other online casino activities, it is a huge step forward for the state, which continues its pursuit of a full online casino and poker site.
Other states are not as fortunate. While Nevada and California are working hard to pass their own online gambling legislations, nothing seems to be working out. The two states, which already have significant populations of land-based gamblers, can’t seem to get the political support they need to launch their own online casino websites. So, Delaware is far ahead of the competition already.