How Online Casinos are Making Waves in the USA
By TOI Staff
June 23, 2023
Update on : July 18, 2023
The United States has a long history with casinos and gaming. It was here that the first ever slot machine was invented, the Liberty Bell, all the way back in 1894. It’s here that you’ll find the casino capital, Las Vegas, known as the City of Sin for its never-ending debaucherous parties and city-wide commitment to entertainment.
However, it’s also in America that some states are yet to embrace the world of online casino gaming. With just Delaware, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, who have taken the plunge and legalized online casino gaming, it’s a surprise that more states haven’t followed suit. Although there could be another one to add to the list very soon as the Rhode Island Senate has just approved iGaming legislation. We’re going to take a look at the effects that the legalization of online casino gaming has had on these states and how there could be hidden benefits to a change of law throughout the USA.
Making Gaming Safer
The first thing it’s super important to understand is that some people will play online casino games, whether it’s legal to in their state or not. Obviously, some people will be deterred, but just with other outlawed activities, it still happens. This means that in states where online gaming isn’t legal, there will be sites running to cater to those who want to play anyway. These sites don’t go through any of the security, safety, or fairness checks that legal sites go through, leaving those who use them vulnerable to exploitation.
By legalizing online casinos, all of the sites that operate in the state have to go through strict checks. These include monitoring the fairness of the games that they provide, to ensure that the house edge is within acceptable parameters and is also true to what is advertised. Sites are vetted to ensure that the way they safeguard personal information, such as date of birth and banking details is secure enough to pass rigorous tests. Finally, online casinos themselves have algorithms or AI-driven technology in place to analyze the patterns of gamers who play on their sites. If their technology detects any problem behaviors, then the casino can take steps to help their customers maintain a healthy relationship with online gaming.
Contributing to Taxes
Only legal operations can be taxed, which means that some states could be missing out on hundreds of thousands of dollars of revenue by not legalizing online casinos. These taxes can be spent on improving life for the people who live there, making schools better, improving public services, or any number of other things that a state could be struggling to fund.
It was only in 2017 that online casinos were legalized in Pennsylvania, but already there are several key players in the world of PA casino sites that are making enormous contributions to the state. This is possible because Pennsylvania had a great business resource center to help these businesses achieve their goals, but also simply because all legal companies need to pay taxes in the state that they’re operating in. They will pay them on their profits, but also their employees will pay taxes on their income, which brings us to the next point.
Creating Jobs
Wherever a new industry springs up, so too do plenty of new jobs. The states that have legalized online gaming have been able to create thousands of new jobs. Some will be at the lower end of the pay and qualifications scale, such as moderating chats, or dealing with customer service issues. These are the kind of jobs that could lift people out of unemployment, which is a growing issue in many states. At the other end of the scale are those who are required to code new games, manage marketing teams to get the word out about new sites, or deal with cyber security.
A large enterprise requires a large team to make things run smoothly, meaning plenty of people have found gainful employment in the states where online gaming has been legalized. In turn, these people can improve their own lives and also pay taxes back to the state to contribute to improving the lives of others.
Leveling the Playing Field
Finally, an often overlooked factor in the world of online gaming, is that some people can’t physically access brick-and-mortar casinos. Online casinos give people who are less able to move around, or have difficulties in public spaces, the option to game from the comfort of their own homes. It can provide a social life through chat boxes and live casino games, to those who might struggle with more traditional forms of communication. Although this only affects a small percentage of society, it’s important that everybody has access to the hobbies that they enjoy.
Read more: How Online Casinos are Making Waves in the USALatest News
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