A study commissioned by the Poker Players Alliance shows that online poker would generate more than $3 billion in federal and state tax revenue a year if online poker were regulated and taxed.
The study, prepared by Judy Xanthopoulos, an economist with Quantria Strategies, examined the existing Internet poker market and concludes that the U.S. government would collect a significant potential source of revenue if it were to incorporate this industry into the U.S. economy.
"This study validates that the benefits of regulating online poker in the United States far exceed the value of prohibiting the activity," said Michael Bolcerek, president of the Poker Players Alliance. "Internet poker is an incredibly popular pastime for millions of Americans. Keeping Americans away from this game is not only unfair but, as this study shows, would be costly, denying state and federal coffers an important source of revenues."
The Poker Players Alliance analysis, which only looks at the impact of regulation and taxation of Internet poker, supports the bipartisan effort in Congress to create a federal commission to examine all online gaming and determine how best it can be regulated within this country.
The U.S. House of Representatives yesterday passed a bill that is designed to stop the flow of money to online sites by making it illegal for banks and credit card companies to work with gambling sites. Click here for yesterday's article on the issue and here for an analysis.
"Our organization enthusiastically supports regulation and taxation, rather than an outright ban," Bolcerek said. "We remain hopeful that opponents of Internet poker will come to the realization that prohibitions don't work and will embrace the idea of creating a regulated environment so that Americans can have an even higher level of comfort when playing poker online."
Internet gambling is now regulated in over 80 countries and jurisdictions. The United Kingdom passed legislation in 2005 to regulate and tax Internet gambling.
The Poker Players Alliance can be found at pokerplayersalliance.org. It's a nonprofit organization advocating on behalf of American poker players.
Click here to visit CardPlayer.com's page dedicated to saving poker.
