Interesting Money piece on Betfair's vision for U.S. gaming
 

Online gambling for the Facebook generation

U.K.-based Betfair is betting that the U.S. market will be legalized sooner rather than later.

By Michael V. Copeland, senior writer

http://money.cnn.com/2009/07/14/tech...ion=2009071416

NEW YORK (Fortune) -- If your favorite book happens to be Seabiscuit, you already know the answer to the following question: What are the three legal forms of online gambling in the United States?

The Federal Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, passed in 2006, put the kibosh on all kinds of online gambling, with the exception of fantasy sports, online lotteries, and horse/harness racing. It actually wasn't the betting that was outlawed, but the transfer of money from a bank to an online gambling site. In any event, for online betting houses in the U.S., the party was over -- sort of.

And I thought Betfair bought TVG to lock up Ken Rudolph to a long term deal. The guy is a scary talent not sure what racing could or would do without him..

They possibly would forget about Giacamo. That would be sad.:(

You're joking right.

This actually isn't very good news for those ADW currently running in the US.. More competition and competition against rebate shops...

That's part of why the piece is interesting. Relatedly, Satish Sanan says that a large portion of what is being perceived as 'lost' domestic handle has actualy disappeared back to the offshore style outlets. Steve Crist pointed out immediately after the 'Unlawful' Act went into effect that there would again be a window of opportunity for racing as the lone legal betting vehicle on the Net. And that window will now close with no meaningful attempt having been made to capitalize on it.

Not unless the ADW's are ready to expand into other areas of gaming.