Illinois Moves Forward with Online Gambling

June 8, 2009

Illinois has been pushing for the legalization of online gambling, much to the excitement of their residents. Many have said that they would like to see online gambling legalized in the state, and feel that these first steps are the thing that will get them to ultimately being able to participate in online gambling � no matter what kind.

They passed a bill this week that will allow for online gambling in the form of horse racing. The bill has already passed both the House and the Senate and only needs the signature of the Governor to make it a law. It would allow online gambling in their homes, in the form of horse racing, and many of their residents say that this is one step closer to online poker or slot machine playing.

Illinois is not alone in its quest to legalize online gambling since the passage if the UIGEA. There are a number of states such as California and Nevada that have been looking into legalizing online gambling on their own and they are attempting to get slot machines and poker included in that. They say that their online gambling would be for their residents only and therefore would not be in violation of the UIGEA.

However, they have support in Congress as well, as many feel that the UIGEA should be overturned and that it should be up to the states as to whether or not online gambling is allowed. Utah follows this way of thinking as well, for they are afraid that if contracts are entered into with other countries regarding online gambling than they will have to honor them and they don�t want it in their state. They believe that if the UIGEA is simply overturned and states decided their own online gambling rules and restrictions then they can make it illegal if they so desire.

 

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