While some speakers at the hearing concerning online casino taxation before the House Ways and Means Committee oppose allowing online betting, even they said the issue should be resolved by the states.

While various positions were elucidated at today's House Ways and Means Committee hearing on Representative Jim McDermott's bill outlining taxation for online gambling, even those opposed to Internet gaming admitted the Federal Government probably shouldn't be deciding the issue. Bob Goodlatte, a Virginia Republican, said the need for money shouldn't outweigh negatives he sees in online gambling, but added the issue properly belongs to the states.

"People sometimes resort to drastic things when they are strapped for cash," said Bob Goodlatte. Still, he agreed with supporters of regulation that a federal ban is not the solution, saying states should be able to make their own decisions.

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Canada's provincial lotteries are joining together to create a national online casino site, offering online casino players a safe and regulated series of sites. The British Columbia Lottery Corporation is linking with other Canadian lotteries to permit online casino access across the country, according to reports by the Canwest News Service. The company, owned by the province, will join with the Atlantic Lottery and Loto-Quebec to offer Internet gaming over a standardized platform.

A gambling consultant with the Atlantric Lottery Bob Rybak said he expects the provinces not currently operating online casino games to join the project, giving Canada a unified system of online gambling. The new network would be accessible not only to computer users, but also through mobile phone applications.

However, some gambling critics showed their lack of education regarding problem gambling, saying the online gambling project would bring a great danger of increased problem gambling to Canada.

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A new study by UK gaming analysts shows as many as 32,000 jobs could be created by US regulation of online casino. A pair of high-profile reports were revealed in recent days that urge governments to legalize and regulate online casino in order to stimulate the economy.

In the U.S. Political website The Hill reports that “legalizing online gambling could create tens of thousands of new jobs over five years,” writes Kevin Bogardus, citing a new research report from H2 Gambling Capital, U.K.- based market analysis firm. In addition to the 32,000 new jobs the report cites, legalized online gambling would also yield “$57.5 billion in new tax revenue over five years. It could also lead to $94 billion in new economic activity, the firm estimates.”

“This study should provide further incentive for the Obama administration and Congress to act quickly to regulate Internet gambling,” Simon Holliday, a director at H2, said in a statement published in The Hill article.

The report also argues that the UIGEA and other anti-online gambling laws are throwing away billions of dollars "and leaving tens of thousands of U.S. players without any onshore regulatory protection" - the kind of protection that may prevent certain money launderers from manipulating an online gambling industry that's short in legal payment solutions.

In Australia, a similar study states that the online casino is experiencing an incredible popularity surge, and what is now a $790 million industry will likely double by 2012. Which accumulating $790 may seem like a somewhat paltry number compared to the billions cited above for the American market, but it seems less so when one considers that Australia’s population is about 1/12th of the U.S.

Simon Holliday remarked that this and past studies have shown that by trying to ban online casino rather than regulate it,US lawmakers are spending billions rather than collecting billions, all while failing to protect US consumers from unsavory elements in the gambling industry. Barney Frank is promising to soon push to advance his proposal to regulate online casino. A deadline of June 1st looms, as that is the implementation date for UIGEA rules against online gambling payment transactions (See VISA Blocks Online Casino Transactions In Canada).

Regulation of online casino seems to be a growing cause in Congress, as bipartisan legislators have called for the suspension of the UIGEA as well as submitted bills using funding from online casino taxes to pay for tax reform and foster care, among other causes.

Among the U.S. States whom would be interested in legalizing and taxing online casino if the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was overturned and regulatory mandates were passed, i.e, Senator Jim McDermott and Barney Frank’s companion bills – the Internet Gambling Regulation Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act and the Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax Enforcement Act – it’s a good bet to add New Hampshire to the list.

As the fight for gaming in the Granite State continues Governor John Lynch now says he may consider a plan to allow online gambling in the state. New Hampshire Governor John Lynch may have expressed his opposition to legislation recently introduced that would have seen the legalization of 17,000 slot machines and table games such as poker in the state, he has surprised his opponents with his own idea to close a growing budget deficit - the introduction of online casino and other forms of gambling online.

Moreover, the New Hampshire Governor John Lynch will be unveiling a plan next week to help New Hampshire close a fast-growing budget deficit during trying economic times. Of the many options in this plan, one of them is online casino. However, on the other hand, the Governor Lynch’s critics, or rather, those who oppose online casino for one reason or another, have already spoken out against the prospects of online casino legalization.

“The governor is worried about proliferation of gaming, but it sounds like he’s going to make every computer terminal in every home and every BlackBerry - including those BlackBerrys held by kids in high school - a gambling facility.” Said Senator Bob Clegg, who just so happens to be a lobbyist for a golf club seeking to build a casino resort in the city of Hudson.

But Governor Lynch says he's still working out specific pieces of the plan. "At this point really we're in the conceptual stage. At this point we're discussing with legislative leaders, different ideas in terms of how to close the budget gap," Said New Hampshire Governor John Lynch.

As such, New Hampshire Governor Lynch can expect tough opposition to his alternative plan. It is being argued that online gambling and poker playing would allow for unchecked addictions and that this type of entertainment does not provide for as many jobs as the construction of land casinos. A planned casino in Hudson, for example, would bring in as much as $10 million in tax revenue and create 3,800 jobs.