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19th July, 2011 :: 10:46:48
Source: Casinos Online
Online gambling's white knight supports proposal
In the same week that House Speaker Robert DeLeo filed legislation seeking to ban internet gambling in cyber cafes (see previous report), the Massachusetts House of Assembly is poised to consider selling state lottery tickets online & by credit card, reports the Boston Herald.
Backers of the proposal claim it could boost cash-strapped state coffers by as much as $1 billion a year, & it has been supported by online gambling's white knight, Democrat Barney Frank.
âEURњI donâEUR™t understand why liberals think theyâEUR™re supposed to tell people not to gamble,âEURќ Frank told the Herald this week. âEURњThey favor gay marriage, legalization of marijuana & sex-oriented literature, but not gambling. ItâEUR™s totally inconsistent. ItâEUR™s wrong for state & federal government to make betting a crime. .âEUR‰.âEUR‰. I am in favor of people being able to gamble online.âEURќ
The proposal is that the state Lottery should launch a pilot program letting players use their credit cards to buy tickets on the Internet. Proponents claim that this could eventually spike sales by 10 percent to 25 percent, potentially raising another $1 billion a year for hard-pressed cities & towns in the state.
âEURњThe idea behind it is to increase Lottery sales & generate more revenues for the commonwealth," said John Regan, chief of staff for state Sen. Michael Rush, who introduced the measure. âEURњOther states are doing it, & the senator thought it would be best to do a pilot program to see how much could be raised.âEURќ
Regan cited gambling industry estimates that up to 60,000 Bay State residents take part in unregulated Internet gambling, spending as much as $250,000 daily with offshore operators. âEURњThe Lottery can capture these revenues by offering (what) the online gaming residents want along with the transparent regulation that offshore regulators lack,âEURќ he claimed.
Geoff Beckwith, executive director of the Massachusetts Municipal Association, said heâEUR™s cautiously optimistic about the online plan but wants to move slowly âEURњbecause the Lottery is such a source of revenue for cities & towns, we want to make sure that any changes are done carefully.âEURќ
However, State Treasurer Steve Grossman has come out against the proposal: âEURњAllowing credit card payments without careful analysis of the consequences could very easily exacerbate problem gambling across the state,âEURќ Grossman told the Herald.
New York, Minnesota, Virginia, Maryland & North Dakota currently sell lottery tickets online, & can do so thanks to carve-outs in federal legislation for state lotteries, fantasy sports & horseracing.
Carolyn Hapeman, a spokeswoman for the New York State Lottery, said Lotto & MegaMillions âEUR“ the only two tickets available âEUR“ sell an additional 95,000 season tickets online annually, ranging in price from $100 to $500 each.
âEURњWe introduced online purchases as a convenience to our customers because we want to offer products to people where they are,âEURќ she said. âEURњLots of our customers are snowbirds who winter in Florida or North Carolina, & it makes it easy for them to buy.âEURќ
Opposition is being encountered from convenience store lottery ticket retailers, who believe that online lottery sales will be bad for their businesses.
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