According to the findings of a new study released by The American Gaming Association, Americans spent $2.6 billion on gambling websites last year.
The AGA is touting the study’s findings to help provide further impetus for Congress to step in and regulate this enormous market at the start of what could be a monumental growth period.
The study by the British-based research firm H2 Gambling Capital found Americans accounted for a significant share of the $33 billion worldwide online gambling market, despite the legal limbo of most Internet betting.
“After years of treating online gambling as criminal,” the Economic Times reports, “the US government quietly shifted its stand in late 2011 when the Justice Department released an opinion stating that only sports betting should be prohibited under a 1961 federal law known as the Wire Act. This opened the door to online poker, which is hugely popular on the Internet, and possibly other casino games along with state lotteries.”
Conveniently, the study arrived just as Hollywood prepares to launch “Runner, Runner,” a new film that addresses the world of online poker head-on.
“‘Runner Runner'” is a fictional account of a lawless online poker world ruled by shady and unethical characters that sadly is not far from reality for millions of Americans who simply want to enjoy one of our favorite pastimes in a safe online environment,” says Geoff Freeman, president and chief executive of the AGA. “Americans account for nearly 10 per cent of the global online gaming marketplace at a time when the business is illegal in all but three American states. It is past time for policymakers to put necessary safeguards in place.”
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