Ex-Party Gaming chief Mitch Garber, who was recently appointed CEO of the new Harrah's Interactive Entertainment division remains bullish on the future of online gambling in the United States, opining that legalisation will take place, and that the market will be dominated by big, well known brands when it does.
In an interview with eGaming Review this week, Garber revealed that the Montreal-based Harrah's Interactive Entertainment team has largely been assembled and will be producing a business plan soon.
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“When it comes to regulation, I’m very confident that legislators will see that this is an industry that can be properly regulated, and that the technology exists to alleviate concerns about money laundering or age verification," Garber said. "I wouldn’t talk about it in dollar terms, but you can imagine Harrah’s is involved in regulatory efforts to see regulated and taxed internet gaming in the US.”
Regarding regulated operations in Europe, Garber commented that the largest land-based gambling company in the world (Harrah's) becoming involved in pushing for regulation would have to be seen as an advantage for the industry.
Garber expects the online gambling sector worldwide will ultimately be dominated by “...a few strong, global operators”....and he believes that eventually Americans will be free to gamble online legally.
“The future of online gaming is going to be not dissimilar from the current situation with land-based gaming. There will be a few, very strong global operators that dominate, and obviously it is Harrah’s strategy to be one of those leading global operators, and to leverage our brands and the expertise of the people that I’m bringing on board to see that that happens,” Garber said.
