COMPANY SET TO CAPITALISE ON U.S. ONLINE GAMBLING

Monday June 20, 2011 : V enture company is backed by prominent land casino executies
 
Former entertainment industry executive, Jon Richmond (53) is expected to be named chief executive officer of U.S. Digital Gaming (USDG), a casino executive-backed venture founded in 2009, reported The Wall Street Journal.
 
The company is said to be positioning itself as a comprehensive provider of online gambling services in the U.S. market including software, legal and licensing advice, website operation, advertising and marketing on the prediction that online gambling will become legal in the U.S. in the near future.
 
"We want to be in position to be able to move forward quickly," said U.S. Digital Gaming, Founder, Richard Bronson.
 
The company reportedly has $6 million at its disposal with $3 million raised from outside investors, including real estate developers, a mall developer who owns the Indiana Pacers basketball team and others.
 
Bronson is staking his hopes on a mix of state laws spreading across the country and has hired lobbyists to push that view in several states reports WSJ.
 
Bronson's view is that state-by-state legalization would create a mix of commercial casinos, state lotteries, and Indian tribes that would require assistance in setting up online operations.
 
USDG claims it has licenced online poker software and has acquired age verification and geo-location technology in anticipation of the possibility of legalised online poker in the U.S.
 
"This is a matter of being in position when legalization occurs, if they never legalize poker online then we've made a bad bet," said Bronson.