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The Biggest Obstacle in the Path
of Legal Online Gambling: Indian
Tribes
The DOJ’s reassessment of the Wire
Act has cleared a lot of the mist
that surrounded the legal status of
online poker and online gambling
and it has pretty much opened the
way for states to either elaborate
their own online gambling
regulations or to adopt the Nevada
regulations and legalize online
gambling for good. While some
states may opt out of the setup, an
eventual federal gambling bill may
also be in the books, and that is a
possibility which has Indian Tribes
up in arms. While some of the
tribes are for such legalization
and regulation, viewing it as
another opportunity to expand their
gambling services and revenues,
others, of less potent financial
means, who deem that their online
operations will never be able to
compete with the Las Vegas backed
sites, are absolutely against such
legalization.
On the whole however, despite the
splits, the tribes agree that
federally legalized and regulated
online gambling would hurt their
interests in the long-run. Such a
legal environment would see them
cannibalize their live casino
revenues and it would place them in
a position of disadvantage given
the nature of the online
gambling/online poker market.
The tribes are indeed rightfully
worried that the DOJ’s latest
position on the Wire Act is an
impetus for a federal-level
regulatory system. They know that
Nevada isn’t about to be confined
within its own state boundaries.
Federally legalized online poker
and gambling would result in a rush
which would surpass anything the
industry has ever seen – according
to Phil Hellmuth and Hellmuth does
know what he’s talking about. In
that case, a few of the tribes
would benefit while the majority
would not.
Apparently, the list of Indian
Tribes that could mount a series
challenge to Las Vegas casinos
online is very short. The Mohegan
Tribe of Connecticut is among those
confident that they will be able to
take on the giants. According to
Bruce Two Dogs Bozsum, his tribe
has been preparing for legal online
gambling and poker for a few years
now. He is confident that by
banding together, the tribes would
be able to field extremely
competitive online poker and online
gambling operations.
Bozsum has even testified in a
Senate hearing regarding the issue
of federally legalized online
poker, representing the viewpoint
of the Indian tribes. According to
Bozsum, state-level legalization
would be unfair towards those
residing in smaller states like
Rhode Island or DC.
If online poker does get legalized,
you should definitely hurry up and
register for a
rakeback deal. Becoming a
member of a
propping team may carry even
greater benefits, although some
restrictions do apply in this case.
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