Over a decade ago, products such as Party Poker and Party Casino started providing the ability for punters to take a bet, and to do this online. At the time this industry was frowned up by the US Government, but they could not do much about it. Offshore websites were being licensed in Kahnawake, The Virgin Island and Caribbean territories and this kind of made them legal, but also untouchable.

However, the US Government got their thinking caps on and came up with the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). This was promulgated virtually overnight and it effectively banned online gambling, by making payment transactions illegal through the auspices of an out-dated Wire Act from way back in 1961.

Now Nevada is the First US state to make online gambling legal, even despite the fact that UIGEA is still in force. The Department of Justice had a change of opinion on the basis of the act, and now interprets it as only online sports betting being illegal. The Federal Government has made it clear that States may decide themselves on whether or not to make online gambling legal.
Nevada has forged ahead and the first legal online gaming in the US will be online poker. Experts are of the opinion that Nevada is now equipped to lead the way with the US online gambling revolution.

Being a multi-billion dollar mainstream industry, the regulation and legalization of online gambling can have a huge business, and beneficial fiscal impact on the US economy. There is also the argument that online poker should be classified a game of skill rather than a gambling game, so, this makes it so much more attractive. If you think that since UIGEA was enacted – $72 billion has left the hands of online gamblers in the US and gone into offshore (foreign) pockets; Federal and state-wide coffers are losing out on a great deal of taxable revenue.

It is not easy to understand UIGEA, there are a ton of grey areas, but basically what it does is stop interstate wire exchanges of money. However, foreign money exchange is not a problem, although it’s becoming tougher as less of the reputable online casino will accept players from the US. While there is more than one way of skinning a cat, this becomes more complex as technology advances.

Gamblers like to play online, there have always been gambling games and a punter will bet on anything if they think they have a chance of winning. Basically, no matter how hard the US government buries their head in the sand, online gambling is not going to just go away. Prohibition has never worked and we see now that it never will. Nevada has the opportunity to get a leading edge in what ostensibly could become a very lucrative industry. All they have to do is keep leading the way. Battle it through the red tape and pave the way for other US states. Other states are going to want to hang onto their coat-tails.

William Hill might be one of the biggest bookmaking brands in the UK, but when they heard that the USA might be making online gambling legal in the near future, they were madly keen to get into this market. First off, gambling online will start intrastate, and this means individual states will be responsible for making their own laws in this regard.

One of the first at the starting gate for state-legislation was Nevada, and William Hill took a very big gamble by investing $53.25 million in three Nevada gambling concerns. These acquisitions are; Brandywine Bookmaking, American Wagering Inc and Club Cal Neva Satellite Race and Sportsbook.

It appears as though this gamble has paid off and will continue to pay off big time, as the need to supplement state coffers through additional tax revenue schemes, spreads like wild-fire throughout the USA. Nevada state administration has ensured that they are now legal to offer online gambling licenses, and William Hill is one of the first to be granted a license from the Nevada Gaming Commission.

William Hill has a wealth of experience in the online gambling business; this brand is not only about High Street retail betting shops. They have been offering super services online for a good deal of time in the UK. The UK as we know has a well-developed infrastructure for the Internet gambling industry. They offer online sports betting, online bingo, a casino, virtual gaming such as Rugby Union, snooker and more; poker, financials, skill, mobile, Arcade and Vegas-type games. UK customers have developed an eclectic and sophisticated taste for these types of games, so, William Hill is well placed in Nevada to offer a superior online service.

It made good sense for this brand to get into the US at the very beginning, as getting a foothold in the US market while legislation is under review, is the way to make sure they get in on the ground-floor with a chance to win. Online gambling was extant in the USA prior to 2006; however, the promulgation of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Act (UIGEA) changed all of this. So, essentially the USA is six years behind the UK in relationship to this virtual industry – we all know just how fast technology advances, so, they are way behind.

This is a significant step by William Hill as the ban is expected to be relaxed in the future state-by-state. To date we have no idea if UIGEA will change Federally, but according to Federal Government. It is up to each state to decide whether they wish online gambling to be made legal.

The acquisitions of the three Nevada-based gambling concerns were dependent on the outcome of the William Hill license applications being granted. Now that this has taken place, we can expect it to be all systems go. Obviously the sooner they get websites up and running, the sooner they can expect a return on their investment.