Advocacy Group iDEA to Champion iGambling Push

Home » Poker News » Advocacy Group iDEA to Champion iGambling Push

Friday, July 21st, 2017 | Written by Lucy Brown

An advocacy group has recently emerged in the hope of reversing the increasing trend of online gambling legislation never quite making it through the American statehouses. The group is called the iDevelopment and Economic Association, or iDEA for short, and they currently have twenty founding members linked to online gambling in the United States. The members of this group consist of those companies who run land-based casinos to online gambling operators to media and payment processing companies.

White Paper

The first order of business for iDEA is a white paper produced by Nathan Associates and Victor-Strategies that highlights the benefits and successes of online gambling in the state of New Jersey. The title of this paper, called the “Economic Impact of New Jersey Online Gaming: Lessons Learned,” looks at items that include, but are not limited to, the social impact of online gambling, the revenue and jobs that have been generated from the sector, and much more. According to the paper, New Jersey has benefited so far from tax revenues of $124.4 million, of which $83.5 million derived from online gambling, as well as an additional 3,375 jobs and $218.9 million in employee wages.

Furthermore, the paper also includes information on how the system operating in New Jersey can easily be applied in other states, with jurisdictions mentioned including Pennsylvania and Illinois. There has been similar line of research performed by analyst Robert DellaFave who says that Pennsylvania could earn more than $400 million during the first five years following the legalization of gambling.

Lack of iGaming Progress

After the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel gave its 2011 opinion to green-light the intrastate world of online gambling, New Jersey, Delaware and Nevada quickly legalized online gaming, one right after the other in 2013. Even so, not one state has joined that list since the initial wave, even following concerted legislation efforts in Pennsylvania, New York, Washington, Massachusetts, Michigan, and California, to name but a few.

It is unlikely to be a coincidence that online gambling legalization efforts stopped after Sheldon Adelson said that his campaign, which he instigated in November of 2103, would do whatever it took to stop online gambling gaining any traction in the U.S. In addition, the push toward legalization was once again dealt a major blow when the American Gaming Association (AGA) quit lending its support to online gambling regulation efforts, representing the end of an important lobbying voice for the industry.

Furthermore, since the AGA’s change in policy, there has been a number of stalemates concerning legislation, and gaming and casino interests are still trying to improve their positions in different markets because of it. Unfortunately, instead of having a piece of legislation that is designed to help the entire industry, different bills that put the interests of one group above another have ended up producing a large stack of legislation that has failed.

A Unifying Voice

So the question now remains: Is iDEA going to be the driving force that provides what states need to legalize online gambling? In answer, iDEA is aiming to offer one message concerning legislation that hopes to explain the numerous benefits of online gambling for operators, customers, and the states themselves. Instead of every gaming company or casino creating their own such letters, iDEA hopes to act on behalf of each and every one in order to smooth over talking points and present something articulate and comprehensive for lawmakers. As iDEA describes its role on its website:

“iDEA is an association seeking to grow jobs and expand online interactive entertainment business in the United States through advocacy and education. Interactive online entertainment is a multi-billion dollar global industry providing customers with dozens of secure and regulated gaming options ranging from casinos with online betting operations, online poker, social and mobile games, sweepstakes, and lotteries. The majority of businesses in this sector operate outside the United States due to legislative and regulatory barriers. Popular support is growing rapidly in the U.S. for expansion of online interactive entertainment.”