Gambling in the U.S. is a hotly debated topic. Many states bar the practice, while others have introduced legislation to legalize gambling, only to see it fail. In Massachusetts, for example, lawmakers were unable to come to a decision last summer over how to regulate the industry and talks collapsed.
Billionaire Steve Winn, the chief executive of Las Vegas casino company Wynn Resorts ( WYNN ), announced that he has teamed with PokerStars, the world's biggest online gambling company, in an effort to lobby policymakers in the U.S. to regulate online poker playing. "We are convinced that the lack of regulation of Internet gaming within the U.S. must change," Wynn said in a statement. "We must recognize that this activity is occurring and that law enforcement does not have the tools to stop it."
Las Vegas was particularly affected by the recession: As consumers trimmed back their purchases, spending on entertainment plummeted. Nevada has the highest unemployment rate of any state and in 2009, its gross domestic product fell by 6.4 percent. Wynn hopes to set up an Internet site with PokerStars through which online poker players could play and win - legally.
In 2008, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan froze $34 million owed to poker players from PokerStars and Full Tilt, another online poker company. Instead of pursuing online poker companies in court, the Justice Department has endeavored to cut off their financing, Forbes reports . With Wynn backing PokerStars, regulated online gambling could come to the U.S.
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