Gambling chief: ‘We’re on the side of regulation’

Regulation, not prohibition, will protect consumers who want to gamble online for money, according to the head of a gambling industry trade group.

People will spend money on online gambling whether it’s legal, Geoff Freeman, CEO of the American Gaming Association, said during an interview on “The Daily Rundown with Chuck Todd” on Monday.

{mosads}“We’re on the side of regulation,” Freeman said. “Prohibition simply doesn’t work.”

Last week, New Jersey became the third state to offer legalized online gambling for money. Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) reiterated his calls for a uniform federal law that would regulate online poker.

During Monday’s interview, Freeman criticized attempts to forbid online gambling, including a recent lobbying effort from casino magnate and political donor Sheldon Adelson.

“Those opponents that want to pretend the Internet doesn’t exist, that we can squeeze the Internet back into the bottle, they’re behind the times,” Freeman said.

“Regulating this product is the best choice that we have if we want to protect consumers, if we want to ensure the integrity of the games, if we want to give law enforcement the tools that they need.”

Freeman called on the federal government to set standards and “minimum consumer protections” for the online gambling sphere.

“It’s their responsibility,” he said.

“In the absence of the federal government stepping in, states are moving forward.”

As of last week, New Jersey, Delaware and Nevada offered some form of legalized online gambling.

New Jersey, Delaware and Nevada have legalized some form of online gambling.