Task Force to Study Online Gambling Behavior

With the debate about USA online gaming regulations heating up, and showing no signs of cooling down, Mississippi's chief gambling regulator has decided to lead a group that will gather data on how casino and sports betting are faring in the three states that have legalized both or one of them: Nevada, Delaware and New Jersey.

Allen Godfrey, executive director of the Mississippi Gaming Commission, has become the chairman of the task force at the request of State Rep. Richard Bennett, R-Long Beach, chairman of the House Gaming Committee.  

Originally, the group was just going to study internet gambling, but then, "a number of legislators from the coast and other areas came to me and asked me to add that to it," Bennett said, so the study will now include sports betting as well.

The goal of the group is not to present findings that are either pro or against online gambling, just to present the facts. The group will not be making any recommendations regarding new laws or regulations.

Issues to Be Studied

Godfrey wants the task force to study on the following issues related to USA online gambling:

• Software - does it works as well as people say it does, and is it truly effective in blocking people in other states from gambling (as mandated by law)?
• How does online gaming affect problem gamblers?
• How do online gaming sites prevent underage gambling? 

The task force will hold its first meeting in May during the Southern Gaming Summit in Biloxi, and will present its findings by the end of 2014.