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April 17th, 2001, 07:37 PM
by Jamie Bate
April 17, 2001 – Debate on allowing Internet gaming in the territory will begin in the Senate on Wednesday, but support for what could bring boom or bust to the local government is spotty at best.
The Senate Committee on Economic Development, Agriculture and Consumer Protection will meet Wednesday to consider a proposal to allow Internet gambling and video lottery. But the committee chair, Sen. Adelbert Bryan, said over the weekend that he is skeptical of the proposal, brought by Sens. Almando "Rocky" Liburd and Vargrave Richards.
The bill sponsors say Internet gaming will bring the government additional revenue. The bill mandates that such proceeds be used to enhance technology programs in the public schools.
Bryan said he is especially concerned that revenue generated by an off-island company operating Internet gaming would bypass the local treasury. He also noted that existing law allows gambling only on St. Croix.
"I will not support it in its present form, because of a lot of contradictions. That needs to be addressed," Bryan said.
"Basically, Internet gaming needs to be controlled."
Because the U.S. Congress has yet to pass legislation on Internet gambling, the Virgin Islands could act quickly with its own law in order to cash in on the multibillion-dollar industry. Last year, at a seminar on Internet gaming hosted by the V.I. Casino Control Commission, experts said the level of on-line gambling had reached about $2.2 billion annually.
By 2005, the amount is projected to reach $10 billion. Observers call Internet gambling a growth industry that will soon exceed the entire gross revenues of all the casinos in the state of Nevada.
And those numbers are not lost on at least 52 governments around the world. From Antigua to Canada and Australia, governments are cashing in by sanctioning some type of Internet gaming.
At this point, regulations range from nonexistent to controls similar to those of the regular gaming industry. Being a U.S. territory could make the Virgin Islands an attractive base for investors, experts said.
Some jurisdictions charge fees for preliminary investigation of prospective Internet gambling operators –– of which there are about 350 worldwide. Some just charge for a simple business license.
What's avaialble on Internet gambling varies; at some sites, people can bet on sports along with traditional casino games such as blackjack, slots and poker.
Most of the sites operate outside the United States. Australia, Antigua, Greece and Monte Carlo have legalized on-line gambling. In 1998, Australia became the first large country to enact player-protection laws. In Antigua, Internet gambling-site operators are subject to a background check and a licensing fee of up to $150,000.
The U.S. Congress, meanwhile, is debating whether on-line gaming should be made illegal. Concerns include its accessibility to children and teens, problems posed for adults with gambling addictions, and the opportunity for illegal activity such as money laundering and fraud.
Where Internet gambling fits into the territory, however, remains a question. Casino commission chair Eileen Petersen, who hasn’t officially weighed in on the merits of the bill before the Legislature, said the same regulatory scrutiny applied to casino owners should also govern anyone seeking to operate a gambling website from the Virgin Islands.
"The same background check that is done by us in the casino industry should be done for this," she said. "We need to know their integrity."
Noel Loftus, a member of the St. Croix Chamber of Commerce and who advocated legalizing "brick-and-mortar" casinos on St. Croix, shares some of Bryan’s concerns. Not only are there insufficient safeguards in the proposed bill, he said, but gambling was approved by residents of St. Croix six years ago as a way to boost the island’s economy. St. Thomas and St. John, he said, never spoke on the issue.
"We voted only for gaming in the casinos as an economic development tool to build hotels," Loftus said. "Eighty percent (of voters in a referendum) didn’t want wide-open gaming throughout the territory."
The Economic Development, Agriculture and Consumer Protection Committee hearing is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Wednesday in the legislative chambers on St. Thomas.
April 17, 2001 – Debate on allowing Internet gaming in the territory will begin in the Senate on Wednesday, but support for what could bring boom or bust to the local government is spotty at best.
The Senate Committee on Economic Development, Agriculture and Consumer Protection will meet Wednesday to consider a proposal to allow Internet gambling and video lottery. But the committee chair, Sen. Adelbert Bryan, said over the weekend that he is skeptical of the proposal, brought by Sens. Almando "Rocky" Liburd and Vargrave Richards.
The bill sponsors say Internet gaming will bring the government additional revenue. The bill mandates that such proceeds be used to enhance technology programs in the public schools.
Bryan said he is especially concerned that revenue generated by an off-island company operating Internet gaming would bypass the local treasury. He also noted that existing law allows gambling only on St. Croix.
"I will not support it in its present form, because of a lot of contradictions. That needs to be addressed," Bryan said.
"Basically, Internet gaming needs to be controlled."
Because the U.S. Congress has yet to pass legislation on Internet gambling, the Virgin Islands could act quickly with its own law in order to cash in on the multibillion-dollar industry. Last year, at a seminar on Internet gaming hosted by the V.I. Casino Control Commission, experts said the level of on-line gambling had reached about $2.2 billion annually.
By 2005, the amount is projected to reach $10 billion. Observers call Internet gambling a growth industry that will soon exceed the entire gross revenues of all the casinos in the state of Nevada.
And those numbers are not lost on at least 52 governments around the world. From Antigua to Canada and Australia, governments are cashing in by sanctioning some type of Internet gaming.
At this point, regulations range from nonexistent to controls similar to those of the regular gaming industry. Being a U.S. territory could make the Virgin Islands an attractive base for investors, experts said.
Some jurisdictions charge fees for preliminary investigation of prospective Internet gambling operators –– of which there are about 350 worldwide. Some just charge for a simple business license.
What's avaialble on Internet gambling varies; at some sites, people can bet on sports along with traditional casino games such as blackjack, slots and poker.
Most of the sites operate outside the United States. Australia, Antigua, Greece and Monte Carlo have legalized on-line gambling. In 1998, Australia became the first large country to enact player-protection laws. In Antigua, Internet gambling-site operators are subject to a background check and a licensing fee of up to $150,000.
The U.S. Congress, meanwhile, is debating whether on-line gaming should be made illegal. Concerns include its accessibility to children and teens, problems posed for adults with gambling addictions, and the opportunity for illegal activity such as money laundering and fraud.
Where Internet gambling fits into the territory, however, remains a question. Casino commission chair Eileen Petersen, who hasn’t officially weighed in on the merits of the bill before the Legislature, said the same regulatory scrutiny applied to casino owners should also govern anyone seeking to operate a gambling website from the Virgin Islands.
"The same background check that is done by us in the casino industry should be done for this," she said. "We need to know their integrity."
Noel Loftus, a member of the St. Croix Chamber of Commerce and who advocated legalizing "brick-and-mortar" casinos on St. Croix, shares some of Bryan’s concerns. Not only are there insufficient safeguards in the proposed bill, he said, but gambling was approved by residents of St. Croix six years ago as a way to boost the island’s economy. St. Thomas and St. John, he said, never spoke on the issue.
"We voted only for gaming in the casinos as an economic development tool to build hotels," Loftus said. "Eighty percent (of voters in a referendum) didn’t want wide-open gaming throughout the territory."
The Economic Development, Agriculture and Consumer Protection Committee hearing is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Wednesday in the legislative chambers on St. Thomas.