While a handful of states rushed to launch online gambling as soon as it was legal to do so in the United States, several more states have taken their time to weigh the pros and cons. As an added benefit of this protracted period of contemplation, states have had the time to learn from the areas of opportunity of the first few states to legalize online gambling (Nevada, Delaware, and New Jersey) and search for proposed solutions.
More than a handful of states have been talking about introducing an online gambling bill, but at least three are actively taking the bold plunge in 2015—California, Mississippi, and Washington State. While lawmakers in these 3 states have now introduced online gambling-related bills, it is expected that New York State will soon do the same (reports Bluff), with Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, West Virginia and Illinois likely to follow suit shortly thereafter.
Even though online gambling revenues have fallen short of lofty expectations, online gambling has successfully generated millions of dollars in new revenue for each state, both in gambling taxes and for the online casino operators. Aside from the potential for new revenue, online gambling also provides a public service in that it keeps gamblers away from risky and illegal online gaming sites.
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