You might think that states that have previously legalized sports betting would be inclined to legalization and regulation of other online gambling, but this presupposition would be wrong. Arkansas and Maine have recently seen yet another attempt to regulate online gaming activities in the states come to an unsatisfying conclusion for proponents of online gaming regulation.
Maine and Arkansas once again shoot down bills designed to regulate and legalize online gaming activities. The two states, despite enjoying the benefits of revenue generated from online sports betting, have lawmakers who cannot agree that the benefits of legalizing online gaming outweigh the imagined dangers. This article will cover both states’ recently rebuffed bills and the broad strokes of why they were rejected, before covering what these states might be missing out on by not regulating their online casino markets.
Arkansas states safety and revenue concerns
The two main reasons that the Arkansas bill was rejected can easily be summed up as safety and revenue concerns. The bill, named House Bill 1861, was withdrawn indefinitely for interim study in April and set out with the goal of both clarifying the position of unlicensed gaming operations as well as placing the responsibility for running state-licensed operations into the hands of existing casino operators.
Concerns of safety
You might believe that concerns about keeping vulnerable people safe are a legitimate reason to stall the creation of online gambling regulations, but the presenters of the bill argued that the safety of Arkansas residents would be improved by a stricter and better-regulated online gaming space.
Revenue cannibalisation
There was also a discussion of online gaming operations breaching local jurisdiction by allowing the creation of ‘mini casinos’. The concern relating to revenue was that the physical casino venues in the state would have to compete with their own online platforms, leading to a situation where one revenue stream would be cannibalising the other.
Being unsafe to become safe
The bill was presented with the safety concerns high in mind, and the safety issues that were raised in opposition ignored the fact that unregulated and unlicensed online platforms are already operating in the state, which the bill was designed to combat. In an odd way, the rejection of the bill won’t make the residents of Arkansas safe, quite the opposite.
Maine refuses tribal control of online casino gaming
In Maine, talk about regulating online casino gaming has always been closely tied to Maine’s Wabanaki tribes, and even though this attempt to codify online gambling in the state was slated to put the Wabanaki Nations in control of the state’s online casinos, the bill, House Bill 1164, did not pass. This bill followed the same playbook as the 2022 online sports betting regulations did. While advocates of this most recent bill were firm in their belief that the tribes deserve more economic advantages of this kind to redress historical disadvantages, detractors were not so sympathetic.
Disparate detractors
Two main groups opposed this push for gaming regulations:
- A group of physical casino operators were outspoken about the economic pull the tribes already have with control of online sports wagering services in the state and didn’t want to see them also gain control of online casino gaming.
- A combined group of community organizations and health advocacy groups, which presented a unified front in arguing against the safety of easier access to gambling services.
Bill tabled
The bill was tabled after reaching the Joint Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee, who took the concerns of both detractor parties seriously and voted unanimously for tabling of the bill.
Not shut down forever
While this might paint a bleak picture for the future for online gambling in Maine, several of the lawmakers involved in the bill, both it’s creation and in halting it, have indicated that they would be happy to revisit it in the future as public opinon shifts and more data can be gathered from other states and their own online casino gambling forrays.
What are these states missing out on?
To put it very bluntly, both of these states are missing out on money. All of the states that have pushed through regulations for online casino gaming have had huge boosts to their economies. In many ways, states should be looking at online gambling in a similar way as they do alcohol or nicotine, something to be regulated, but a good source of tax revenue.
If sports wagering, why not casino gaming?
The economic boost offered by online casino regulation is in much the same vein as the one gained by states that have regulated online sports betting activities. An inquiring reader like yourself might be surprised to learn that Arkansas and Maine have both previously legalized online sports wagering and are reaping the benefits of revenue generated from these platforms, so why is online casino gaming considered so different? We unfortunately don’t have the answers.
Regulation means a safer ecosystem for residents
As you will find we have written above, some of the proponents of the Arkansas House Bill 1861 were quick to point out that there are currently already unlicensed and unregulated platforms operating in both states, which have no compunctions about the safety of the consumers. By denying these bills, the residents of both states are left with no other option but these wild-west unlicensed operators.
It might seem somewhat counterintuitive, certainly it must seem so for the detractors of these bills, but in order to properly protect their residents, these states should regulate and shepherd the creation of consumer protections in their online gambling markets. Blaming the creation of regulated casino platforms for gambling addiction is akin to blaming the rap industry for violence; just because an issue is made more visible, doesn’t mean the thing making it visible is the cause of the issue.
No for now
Despite what seem like clear benefits, notional fears are keeping both Arkansas and Maine from moving ahead with online casino regulations. The states are likely to look for more evidence from other states as to the success of their own online gambling programs, and should public opinion sway, they are likely to revisit the issue with open minds.
Information on online casino platforms sourced from https://zamsino.com/nl/no-deposit-bonus/
