SOURCE: PRNewswire

(Washington, D.C.) — A tax revenue analysis announced by Representative Jim McDermott (D-WA) estimates that regulating Internet gambling would generate between $3.1 billion to $15.2 billion in federal revenues over its first five years, and between $8.7 billion to $42.8 billion over its first ten years.

The data, based on a detailed analysis provided by an independent accounting firm, was provided in testimony submitted to the House Committee on the Judiciary where McDermott also detailed policy refinements to his legislation, the Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax Enforcement Act.

"Even under the most conservative estimates, licensing and regulating Internet gambling—and collecting the taxes that are due—will provide much-needed revenue to the U.S. Treasury," said McDermott.

"This is money we are currently losing to other jurisdictions, for no other reason than some of my colleagues' think we can actually stop people from gambling online. It is money we will continue to lose if we ignore the fact that if grown adults in America want to gamble online, they can and they will."

The Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax Enforcement Act has been refined to provide better protections against tax cheating and thereby increase federal revenue from permissible Internet gambling activity.

The only new fee proposed is a payment equal to two percent of player deposits placed with a licensed gambling operator - fees paid by the operator, not the individual gambler.

The two percent deposit fee is designed to equalize the costs of operation in providing gambling services online as opposed to brick and mortar casinos providing gambling services in-person, and would only be applied to online operators.