Orlando Sentinel – About the only sure bet when it comes to gambling in Florida is this: Sooner or later, the issue will start an argument.
For decades, legislators, activists and kitchen-table kingpins have debated whether more casinos should come to the state.
But with gambling growing more popular nationwide, there’s a chance Congress eventually could clear the way for card sharks — and vulnerable minnows — to skip the casinos and wager from their computers.
At least three bills to allow Internet betting were introduced in Congress this year, and the issue gained enough traction that House lawmakers held a hearing in early December to debate the idea.
Though passage of any bill remains a long shot, supporters say time is on their side and that they ultimately can win over — or just outmaneuver — gambling critics, who say Internet betting will fuel addictions and increase the likelihood of online crime.
“I’m confident that one way or another, online gaming will be legal in the United States — for no other reason than you can’t change the desire of consumers,” said Geoff Freeman, head of the American Gaming Association, an industry booster group.
In 2012, American gamblers sidestepped broad prohibitions on Internet betting, he said, and wagered about $3 billion with offshore companies.
Meanwhile, three states — Delaware, Nevada and New Jersey — legalized online gambling within their borders after the U.S. Department of Justice decided in 2011 to reverse a long-standing prohibition.
Although what’s legal differs in the three states — Nevada allows only online poker, for example — there’s been a push in statehouses nationwide to allow Internet gambling. At least eight states considered the prospect in 2013, though no serious effort was made in Tallahassee.
Two Florida bills to allow the sale of lottery tickets online went nowhere, and the Legislature banned so-called sweepstakes parlors, which functioned as “strip-mall casinos” with online games similar to slot machines.
With such a wide range of gambling laws, some lawmakers are calling on Congress to set national standards.
