Gambling News - October 2006 Edition

Republican Jim Kasper Thinks Online Casinos Should be Regulated

While most republicans in the U.S. House and Senate are staunchly opposed to the proliferation of online casinos and have expressed this opposition through their support of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006, republican Jim Kasper seems to be an exception.  Kasper has taken a different view of online casinos, suggesting instead that the regulation of online casinos would help his state raise badly needed funds for all types of public services.

It is this reasoning that had Kasper attempting to establish a licensing agency for online poker sites in his state of North Dakota.  Kasper also points out that, by establishing such an agency, the state-owned bank of North Dakota would be able to turn a profit by handling the transactions between online casino customers and the online casinos.

Kasper’s approach to online gambling is similar to that of the United Kingdom’s approach which taxes and regulates the online gambling industry.  Unfortunately for Kasper, however, most of the republicans who oppose online gambling have been very vocal about the need for their latest anti-online gambling bill and were therefore very successful at squelching any support Kasper could have received for his initiative.  Consequently, the initiative, although passed by the North Dakota House, did not make it through the North Dakota Senate.  Kasper first introduced his idea for establishing a online casino licensing agency back in 2005, but it now looks unlikely that the idea will catch on in today’s political climate and Kasper has said he will not push his bill any further.

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