Iowa Lobbying to be First Online Gambling State

Submitted by Beth on Mon, 2010-03-01 at 20:02

The state of Iowa is pushing for the legalization of online gambling. While they are not the only state to come up with the idea, if the bill is passed Iowa will be an online gambling pioneer in the US. The entire country still follows the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) which bans banks and credit cards from processing transfers to and from online casinos.

Their argument for this caused consists of several points. First of all there is concern that offshore operators are planting players to bluff their way through the game (poker) and win unfairly over US players. Officials in Iowa believe that regulated online gambling would eliminate this problem and allow players more options such as choosing online casinos that operate out of the US.

A representative in Iowa claims that more than 50,000 residents gamble online regularly and believes that they lose thousands of dollars every year through illegal gambling practices.

The proposal has been said to have a one in four chance of being passed. Representatives are hoping that the public will be educated about online gambling in order to avoid a public outcry. Other US representatives are not optimistic that the proposal will be put through because it is such a big change and means that the country will be divided if one state stops following the UIGEA. Some believe that the best bet is to wait until June when a decision will be made regarding the continuance of the UIGEA and take it from there.