We are now in Q2 of 2014 and indications are that regulated online poker and gambling will not become a reality in any additional states this year.
While a number of state legislatures may be considering joining Nevada, Delaware and New Jersey in enacting online gambling statutes, the truth of the matter is that a number of those states have resigned themselves to waiting to see how things pan out over time. With Delaware and Nevada a bit too small to get an accurate reading of igaming’s success, New Jersey remains the state under the microscope.
New Jersey has been up and running only a bit over four months. Initial revenue numbers have been way off the mark of the early projections that were made prior to launching, which has caused Governor Chris Christie to re-evaluate online gambling’s potential and lower anticipated revenue dollars considerably.
Other states that include California, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Massachusetts are likely carefully monitoring the situation in New Jersey. What remains as one of the greatest concerns is whether or not online gambling is cannibalizing the state’s land-based gaming operations. However, four months is seen by many as not enough time in which to obtain a reliable sample.
Early indications are that online gamblers and those who visit casinos are different breeds. Caesars Interactive representative Seth Palansky recently told the Press of Atlantic City that initial studies have found that those playing poker or gambling online haven’t visited us in a while or are new players all together
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That is music to the ears of officials in the states that aren’t yet prepared to take the online poker regulation plunge until more evidence is available. That list is said to include New York, Maryland, Rhode Island and Mississippi in addition to the others previously mentioned.
Another factor that is hindering the progress of online gambling expansion this year is the Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling created by Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson in December. Individual states may be reluctant to board the regulated online poker train while the billionaire is lobbying lawmakers and spending a substantial amount of cash attempting to prevent igaming expansion.
For these reasons and several others that may be slightly different for each of the states on the fence, odds are that 2014 will go by without another state joining the trio that launched their respective online gambling regimes last year.
The good news is that online poker players who have anxiously been waiting for their lawmakers to act and approve Internet poker do have several options until that time comes. Our homepage devoted to the [geolink href=”https://www.usafriendlypokersites.com”]best U.S. poker sites[/geolink] will steer you in the right direction and enable you to find a poker room at which to play while legislators continue to wait and see how the situation plays out in 2014.
