Global Post – Americans spent $2.6 billion on gambling websites in 2012, according to a study released Tuesday by the casino industry as it renewed a push for Congress to regulate online betting. The American Gaming Association, which released the study, said it highlights the need for federal legislation to end the state of “ambiguity” on Internet wagering. The study by the British-based research firm H2 Gambling Capital found Americans accounted for a significant share of the $33 billion worldwide online gambling market, despite the legal limbo of most Internet betting. After years of treating online gambling as criminal, the…

From The Hill – Lawmakers on Wednesday expressed broad agreement that more regulations are needed for online gambling. A Senate panel on Wednesday derided out-of-date regulations that make it easy for almost anyone to bet money online without proving their identity. “Shame on us if we don’t get something done on this because, when I think about the possibility for money laundering, terrorism, drug trafficking and the potential for children to get access to use the Internet as well as people to add to the addiction issue, I hope this is something that we move on very quickly,” said Sen….

From WSJ The debate over Internet gambling has been raging in the U.S. for more than a decade. Until recently, the federal government treated Internet gambling as an illegal activity. Fueled by the 50-year-old Wire Act, which bans sports betting over communication wires, and a 2006 law that made it illegal to process U.S. payments for online gambling, the Justice Department targeted online-gambling companies and their partners with criminal and civil lawsuits. But in late 2011, the Justice Department changed its interpretation of the law, opening the way for states to consider some forms of Internet betting. Earlier this year,…