MGM, Sony, Apple, Time Warner Would All Get Involved With Internet Gambling
If Internet gambling is legalized, not only will banks and credit card companies no longer have to block online gambling transactions, they’ll be able to process them and profit from them.
“We would do so as quickly as we could,” MGM Mirage Senior Vice President Alan Feldman told Tom Somach of the San Francisco Chronicle. “We would have it up and running within a year. And I have to believe that just about everyone will get involved at some level. All the major players.”
The question posed: “Who are all the major players?”
“All the major entertainment companies will get involved, too. Sony, Apple, Universal, Columbia, Time Warner. It just seems logical that at some point they would find their way into the (Internet gambling) industry.”
A proposal by chairmanship of the House Financial Services Committee, Barney Frank looks to repeal a controversial law banning online gambling by means of banking instruments. His measure has been gaining momentum and is almost certainly receiving the support from Vegas and other corporate enterprises.
But his measure would also count out the vast majority of those currently involved in online gambling. Individuals cited for even minor bookmaking infractions would be prevented from obtaining an Internet gambling license.
Cassimir Medford of the Red Herring was one of the first to speculate on big business getting involved in online gambling, by way of today’s biggest Internet social gathering websites.
“A proposed U.S. bill to legalize Internet gambling could open a $7-billion betting window for venture capitalists and social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook,” an industry analyst told Medford.
They could also acquire any of the dozens of online gambling firms that have seen their traffic decline because of the passage of last year’s anti-gambling law.
One social networking and communications site, New York City-based Raketu, is already seeking out gaming opportunities in places where online betting is legal, such as Asia. Greg Parker, CEO of the closely held site, said he might set up an online casino targeting U.S. gamblers if it were to become legal to do so.
“This is absolutely an opportunity but we will have to see if this bill passes,” Mr. Parker said. “We already have the accounting and billing systems in place so we can get into that market pretty easily.”
Even a company as family-oriented as Disney could get involved in opening an Internet casino, Feldman told The Chronicle Monday. “I know Disney has certain beliefs about its core brand structure that could prevent it,” he said. “But they could always create a sub-brand, as they do with their movie company Touchstone Pictures (which produces R-rated movies).”
MGM Mirage owns and operates about a dozen major Las Vegas casinos, including MGM Grand, Mirage, Monte Carlo, Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, Luxor and Treasure Island. MGM Mirage previously operated an Internet casino from the Isle of Man in the British Isles, from 2001 to 2003, that was open to people in every country but the United States. The casino failed, Feldman said, because of that ban.
“About 70 percent of the global online wagering market is from the U.S.,” he said. “So we were competing, with only 30 percent of the market. It wasn’t enough to be profitable.” But with the U.S. market, under Frank’s proposal, it would be profitable, he predicted.
