MORE SUPPORT FOR LEGALISED ONLINE GAMBLING

Thursday August 18,2011 :  New York Observer nails its colours to the mast
 
The growing number of media calls for legalised online gambling at state level has been augmented by the New York Observer this week. In an op-ed article, the newspaper asserts that legalising online gambling Is a good bet.
 
"Taxing winnings just might help solve some of the state's revenue problems. Let the games begin!" the editorial exhorts. "It’s no secret that local and state governments are starved for revenue. Fortunately, most have avoided broad-based tax increases that kill economic growth and the jobs that come with it. But governments have been less wise and less creative when it comes to producing new revenue streams."
 
The piece goes on to point out that regardless of bans, Americans like to gamble online and continue to do so. Other states are acting on this demand, with an eye on raising tax revenues from the pastime, and so should New York.
 
"Governor Andrew Cuomo reportedly is looking into an expansion of gaming in New York, while some states are studying Washington D.C.’s recent legalization, a move that has produced a [possible] extra $9 million in yearly revenues for the city. That’s all good, because right now countless millions are being spent at the federal level in a vain attempt to crack down on on-line gambling.
 
"It’s a lost cause, and it’s time that governments at all levels recognize—and profit from—reality. People are going to gamble. Either governments can waste resources trying to suppress this activity, or they can legalize it and get a piece of the action. "It is important because the state needs creative solutions to its revenue issues. The state constitutional ban on [online] casinos is out of date. Let’s get rid of it."