When it rains, it pours: As the debate over regulating online gambling in the U.S. gets more media attention, more lawmakers realize they’re missing out on potentially billions of dollars by leaving online gaming unregulated — and therefore untaxed.
The latest state to consider regulating Internet gambling is North Carolina, where Governor Bev Perdue “says she has not yet ruled out the possibility of asking lawmakers to legalize and regulate internet gambling,” according to the state’s NPR channel, WFAE.
“If you’re going to have it, it has to be controlled. It has to be, I believe, regulated,” Perdue said in the article. “There has to be a revenue stream that we can look at, there has to be guarantees that people who are risking their money are at least having an opportunity of reward, just like a lottery.”
So move over, California and New Jersey — you’re not the only states wising up to the benefits of regulated online gambling. It’ll still be a long time before these regulations get approved and come into effect (and then get hashed out by legislators and tax authorities), but the day of fully regulated online gambling in the U.S. can be seen on the horizon.