I keep reading articles that tell me that laws against online gambling are to protect Americans from gambling addiction. But the problem here is that a surprising amount of the campaigning against online casinos comes from brick and mortar casinos. So it really isn’t designed to protect the public against the evils of gambling but to protect existing real world casinos against competition from online casinos. Competition that could, in some games would actually, force them to offer better payouts. Let’s take a look at the Commerce Casino in Commerce, California to see how this works.
The Commerce Casino boasts the world’s largest poker room. It’s a real world player’s paradise with dining, entertainment and accommodations. But it’s turning out to be a poker player’s hell when it comes to the casino’s attitude on online gambling. The casino is against Barney Frank’s bill HR 2267 (Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act) which would provide for legalized online gambling with provision to protect consumers and provide revenue. But the casino isn’t against completely against online gambling. Instead they want it to be regulated at the state level. This is so that they can use their money and backing for a more restricted online gambling process in California. Their proposed California process would restrict online gambling in the state to casinos operating in the state. Which would also restrict players to gambling online with state casinos.
The Poker Players Alliance has object to this because poker is a highly social sport and players want to be able to compete on the world stage. But this restriction to strictly state casinos also affects players of other online games. Online casinos have to offer players the best games and odds they can. Play video poker? Online, you can always find the best pay tables. Even slot games have to squeeze that house edge as much as they can to tempt players back. Restricting online play by creating a state monopoly doesn’t protect the players. It protects the casino’s profit.