The state of Massachusetts may be on the road to legalizing Internet gambling.
An Icelandic software firm, Betware, has met with lottery and government officials in hopes to pave the way for legislature that would legalize online lotteries. Massachusetts joins a handful of traditionally left-leaning states that have discussed regulating Internet gambling. “They are innovative. They have the technical expertise,” said Stefan Hrafnkelsson, CEO of Betware.
The state may have the technological infrastructure but the road to legalization would be very long. Since the passage of the UIGEA in 2006, no state has successfully authorized online gambling. The UIGEA forbid financial institutions from processing transactions from a player to an online gambling operator. However, the cost of monitoring millions of transactions would be costly to banks. Despite the cost outweighing the benefits, regulations took effect on June 1.
Earlier this summer, a California bill that was poised to legalize online poker was quickly struck down. The bill was marred by politicians that sought to create state run poker rooms. According to the senate bill, any player not playing on one of the California online poker rooms would be guilty of a state crime. In other words, playing at ACR Poker would have been illegal had the bill passed.
Massachusetts lottery officials have admitted that there are no plans to continue forward with the concept. Citizens, legislators, and operators will need to be on the same page before there is a chance at licensing any form of online gambling.