New version of Internet Gambling Regulation brings $30 billion to US

As it became known Thursday, The Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative unveiled its intention to uphold strongly Representative Jim McDermott, who has presented an updated version of the Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax Enforcement Act of 2010.

The updated act is to provide guarantee taxes and fees collected from wagers placed online in order to raise much-needed revenue for federal and state budgets.

According to the most significant change in the legislation, each state and tribal government will be enabled to be paid 6% of all deposits placed by residents of their jurisdiction with online gambling operators. This provision, in combination with other taxes, would generate an estimated $30 billion or more in new revenue for the states and tribal areas over 10 years.

Besides, the legislation would allocate 25% of the federal income, estimated by the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation at nearly 42 billion over 10 years, to provide assistance for those in foster care.

All but six states face budget shortfalls for the 2011 fiscal year, some states, including California, New Jersey, Florida and Iowa have already begun to weigh options to bring regulated Internet gambling to their jurisdictions.

McDermott's legislation is meant to serve as a companion to the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act of 2009, legislation introduced by Chairman Frank. Additionally, Chairman Frank's legislation would mandate a number of significant consumer protections and reinforce the rights of each state and tribal government to decide to allow online gambling activity for people accessing the Internet within their borders and to apply other restrictions on the activity as necessary.