As the online gambling industry waits to see whether New Jersey will become the first American state to regulate online gambling, more states seem to be getting the same idea.
In Iowa, gambling lobbyists are trying to convince lawmakers to regulate Internet gambling in that state. And so far, they’re succeeding.
“A reported 150,000 Iowans already engage in online gambling, such as poker, but it’s illegal, the state doesn’t capture taxes on it and there’s no regulation,” explains Jennifer Jacobs in the pages of the Des Moines Register.
“Some efforts to take charge of our fate on this … makes sense,” State Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal told the newspaper. (But he also added: “I don’t have strong feelings on that issue.”)
The legislation there would almost certainly be restricted to local, Iowan casinos, as is the case in New Jersey and other states considering regulating online gambling.
Of course, there was talk about a year ago in Iowa of new online gambling laws, too, and that didn’t get very far. Will this year be different? Could this, too, depend on New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s impending decision?