There is an old comedic line that you still hear from time to time, and it deals with the age-old relationship between a man and a woman.  The scene generally revolves around an argument between a couple, and the man comments to a friend: “Women - you can’t live with them and you can’t live without them.”

Today, the online gambling news appears to be sending the same connotation, but on a different level– online gambling and government. In this case, some governments around the world are trying to do their best to imitate your “big brother” by espousing to know what is best for you in spite of your feelings on the matter.  In reality, these governments are simply trying to ensure that you do not make money on gambling profits without the government realizing some of those profits for themselves.  

On the online gambling news front, many European nations are bucking the trends and are taking steps toward liberalizing their online gambling policies.  One of these nations is the Netherlands, a country that now appears to understand the opportunities that are available by regulating the online gambling market.  Earlier this month, the Dutch government approved a bill that would legalize the licensing of companies that offer online poker, bingo lottery games and online sports betting services.  There is a widespread belief among experts that this legislation could transform the European online gambling industry.

At this time, the government monopolizes the market and players must participate on government-run forums only.  However, some companies took the Dutch government to the European Union courts regarding violations of policy.  The new political voice in the Netherlands has a keen interest in the economic well-being of its country and sees online gambling as an industry that has the potential to generate tremendous revenue for the country.

In the United States, there are mixed messages that are being sent.  The State of New Jersey nixed online gambling while the District of Columbia approved of online poker within its jurisdiction.  In Las Vegas, however, there is a much different tone.  Gary Loveman, the President and CEO of Caesars, made online gambling news  when he stated publicly last week that online regulation can be successfully implemented by creating regulations that deal with underage gambling, problem gambling, collusion, money laundering, and unscrupulous site operators. He further stated that the time is ripe for this legislation because of the vast void left by the closing of three main poker sites that served the U.S. population.  Loveman said that upwards of $6 billion in revenue could be realized by poker rooms in the United States should online gambling be legalized and federally regulated.

We shall follow the online gambling news closely in the upcoming weeks.

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