Michigan Holds Informational Hearing On Internet PokerVote Wasn't Held, But Industry Makes Case For I-Gaming Regulation |
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On Wednesday, the state of Michigan took its first step toward a regulated online casino gaming industry. Lawmakers in the Senate’s Regulatory Reform Committee held a roughly 90-minute long hearing on an online poker bill that was introduced in April.
The author of the bill, Michigan Sen. Mike Kowall, said that online gaming could create roughly 22,000 jobs in the state, in addition to providing much-needed tax revenue. The bill calls for a 10-percent tax on Internet gaming win.
Testifying at the hearing was Poker Players Alliance executive director John Pappas, who spoke about the need to protect poker players from unregulated sites.
“It’s important for consumers that we license and regulate,” Pappas said in testimony that was very similar to the comments he gave at last month’s online poker hearing in California.
Amaya Gaming, the parent company of the most played poker site in the world, had three representatives there to talk about the online gaming business. The first rep for the company talked about problem gambling and the ability of online operators to help gamblers set limits.
The next Amaya rep was Steven Winter, the company’s director of operations, who gave an explanation of the robust safeguards available for operators and the state to ensure that only players within the state’s borders have access to the games. Winter said that these verification techniques have become an “exact science.”
Winter went on to address the issue of bots and how the site has the “onus” to “catch them as soon as possible.” The testimony about protecting the integrity of the games echoed some of the testimony from the PPA.
Another Amaya rep said that money laundering is more difficult to do online because the site “doesn’t take cash” like brick-and-mortar casinos obviously do.
“Our risk should be mitigated” by the approved payment methods, said Matthew Robbins, director of compliance for Amaya. He added that gambling via the web leaves an “online footprint,” which would make financial crimes easier to spot.
Up next was a representative from the governor’s office, who said that it’s not clear if online gambling will harm or help Detroit’s struggling casino market, which is worth roughly $1.3 billion annually. However, the next witness explained that all of online gaming’s benefits aren’t tied to the revenue generated from the sites themselves.
Michael Pollack of Spectrum Gaming Group said that “technology changes rapidly but human nature does not,” explaining that there will always be a demand for brick-and-mortar gaming, so online gaming can help reach new demographics. He said that online gaming shouldn’t just be viewed as a new revenue stream, but also as an advertising opportunity for gambling facilities.
Pollock pointed out that Michigan has more than eight casinos. The bill currently calls for just eight online gaming licenses. Sen. Kowall indicated that the number of licenses available could be changed as the bill makes its way through the legislative process.
Though there wasn’t a vote on the measure, the PPA called the hearing a “great first step” shortly after the hearing wrapped up. It was revealed during the hearing that Michigan, which already has a successful online lottery, has been looking at the possibility of online casino games for the past three years.
Michigan has a population of roughly 10 million people, more than New Jersey’s nine million. New Jersey online casinos generated nearly $150 million in revenue last year, which was more than 90 percent of the U.S. total. Nevada and Delaware are the only other states with regulated online casino games.
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