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Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen is still reviewing the ruling by the US Justice Department enabling states to regular their own internet gaming.

In the mean time, Connecticut’s governor, Dannel P. Malloy, speaking on the developments was concerned about the effect this could have on people who deal with gambling addictions.

“Listen, I’m not a big proponent of gaming. But what’s going to happen based on the change in position by the U.S. Justice Department … is that there’s going to be online gaming in the United States. So it’s not a question of whether it’s going to happen … (And if) all of the online potential within our state goes to companies that are outside our state, then obviously we end up the big loser.”

“We do spend about $1.9 million a year (to help problem gamblers),” Malloy told CT Post. “If you’re asking me do I think it’s foreseeable in the future we may need to spend more money, I think the answer is in the affirmative. What the right level of money is and what the actual challenges will be remain to be seen. But at $1.9 million we’re big investors and we’re probably going to have to invest more.”

Source: CT Post.

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Delaware Lottery tickets could be coming to a computer near you. A ruling by the U.S. Justice Department has cleared the way for states to begin selling tickets over the Internet, and Delaware officials are already exploring the logistics and legal subtleties of such online sales.

Delaware isn’t discussing any specific offerings yet, but recognizes that it’s an effort that must be handled with care.

“There are certain sensitivities that we need to be aware of and cognizant of,” acting Delaware Lottery Director Vernon Kirk said Friday “Our retailers and such, we have to be able to include them in the process.” A too-hasty launch of an online system also could harm public perceptions if there are technical glitches, he noted.

“I think there’s a great potential here, and there’s an even more negative potential,” Kirk said. “You want to be right, right out of the gate, because if you’re wrong, it can have a really damaging impact.”

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Coming up early in the 2012 on the agenda for California legislators is When state lawmakers is legalizing online poker. Lawmakers held hearings in 2011 on a proposal that the state sanction certain websites for poker and other gambling, with a cut of the action going to the treasury. The matter was postponed until 2012 amid opposition from some Indian tribes that see such games as competition for their brick-and-mortar casinos.

Now, Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) has brought the two sides together in hopes of forging a compromise that lawmakers will pass, according to Mark Hedlund, a spokesman for the leader. Steinberg wants to regulate cyber-gambling “while providing revenue — hopefully hundreds of millions of dollars — to help us reinvest in public schools, higher education and public safety,” Hedlund said.

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The Justice Department has reversed its long-held opposition to many forms of Internet gambling, removing a big legal obstacle for states that want to sanction online gambling to help fix their budget deficits.

The new policy merely reverses the Justice Department’s longstanding position that all forms of online gambling are illegal in the United States. It does not necessarily pave the way for national rules governing online gambling.

But experts in gambling law said Saturday that the new policy does imply that states can band together to allow gambling across state borders. The exception would be online sports betting, which is explicitly prohibited under federal law.

More here and here.

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By year’s end Washington D.C. hopes to introduce an Internet gambling hub that would allow Washington residents to play blackjack, poker and other casino-style games.

“They can do it from Starbucks, a restaurant, bar or hotel, or from a private residence,” said Buddy Roogow, executive director of the D.C. Lottery, who expects the new games to eventually raise $9 million a year. “That’s real money in D.C.”

It’s an idea gaining currency around the country: virtual gambling as part of the antidote to local budget woes. The District of Columbia is the first to legalize it, while Iowa is studying it, and bills are pending in places like California and Massachusetts.

But the states may run into trouble with the Justice Department, which has been cracking down on all forms of Internet gambling. And their efforts have given rise to critics who say legalized online gambling will promote addictive wagering and lead to personal debt troubles.

The states say they will put safeguards in place to deal with the potential social ills. And they say they need the money from online play, which will supplement the taxes they already receive from gambling at horse tracks, poker houses and brick-and-mortar casinos.

- Source: NYTimes.com

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