The Law Taketh, the Law Giveth

Across the pond that we call the Pacific, in the heartland of America, the state of Kansas passed a bill that would allow the construction of casinos, one in each of four “gaming zones.”

The bill also would allow resort-style “destination” casinos to be constructed in southeast Kansas near Pittsburg, near Wichita and in Dodge City. Slots would be allowed at existing horse and dog racetracks.

The bill began as a reauthorization of the Kansas Lottery. During debate in the House, provisions allowing state-owned casinos and slots at dog and horse tracks were added.

The casinos would be owned by the Kansas Lottery, which would contract with private companies to manage each casino. The manager could be an Indian tribe, the bill says. The state lottery and the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission would be responsible for all oversight and regulation.

Like other gaming measures, the hope is the new measure will attract tourists, and  revenues from gambling will help Kansas cover its expenses.

“This is an opportunity for our state to generate out-of-state dollars from visitors, to reinvigorate Kansas agribusinesses raising horses and greyhounds and to maximize state revenue while maintaining strict regulatory oversight,” Sebelius said in the news release.

In casinos, at least 22 percent of the gambling revenue will go to the state. The bill dictates 40 percent of slot machine revenue will end up in state coffers.

Meanwhile, one of the U.S. laws passed last year making it illegal to make payments for online gambling was declared illegal by the WTO. Don’t hold your breath waiting for the law to be overturned, though. Better to save up money and drive to Kansas. 

The U.S. ban on offshore Internet gambling payments is illegal, the World Trade Organization said yesterday, upholding a decision that allowed for sanctions.

The WTO said the United States ignored the previous ruling, which challenged the U.S. ban on payments to gambling Web sites while allowing bets on its own soil.

Antigua and Barbuda, a Caribbean nation with about 70,000 people, challenged U.S. government efforts to close the estimated $12 billion worldwide business to U.S. residents, who accounted for half the market. Last October, the U.S. government banned credit card companies from processing payments to betting sites such as SportingBet and Empire Online, which then ceased U.S. operations or sold them for nominal amounts.

Here’s the impact on the tiny Caribbean nation’s economy of UIGE:

Income for the 32 registered online casinos in Antigua and Barbuda has fallen to $130 million a year, from $1 billion in 2000, the Antiguan government said. The country developed online gambling to boost a tourism-dependent economy after several hurricanes in the 1990s.