In US, a congressman has testified that regulating and taxing online gambling could generate up to USD 42 billion for Federal coffers over the next decade. The data is based on a detailed tax revenue analysis conducted by an independent accounting firm.

The data, based on a detailed tax revenue analysis conducted by an independent accounting firm, was provided in testimony submitted to the House Committee on the Judiciary recently by Representative Jim McDermott. The Washington Democrat also detailed policy refinements to his legislative proposal, the Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax Enforcement Act (IGREA).

“Even under the most conservative estimates, licensing and regulating Internet gambling and collecting the taxes will provide much-needed revenue to the US Treasury,” said McDermott.

McDermott stated that USD 3.1 to USD 15.2 billion in revenues could be generated by taxing online gambling over the first five years followed by USD 8.7 to USD 42.8 billion over the first decade. “This is money we are currently losing to other jurisdictions because some of my colleagues’ think we can actually stop people from gambling online,” said McDermott.

The Congressman stated that IGREA had been refined to provide better protections against tax cheats to increase Federal revenues from permissible online gambling activity. In addition, a proposed fee in the legislation would see licensed online gambling operators pay two percent of player deposits to the government.

“Most of the revenues generated would come from taxes required under existing law that we currently lose because of a misguided belief that we can actually stop Internet gambling,” said McDermott.