An analysis by American accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers has found that the USA could receive as much as $52 billion in Federal revenue over the next decade if Internet gambling is regulated and taxed.

The study was commissioned by the UC Group, a British online payment processor.

Internet gambling was not made illegal, but it was made more difficult for Americans to engage in when the U.S. Congress passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in 2006.

The legislation prohibited American banks and credit card companies from allowing customers to use credit cards for online gambling.

Since credit cards were the most common method used by Americans to fund online gambling, UIGEA severely restricted the activity.

In addition, UIGEA caused numerous online gambling websites to ban American customers.

If Internet gambling is officially legalized, regulated and taxed in the USA–in effect, reversing UIGEA–more Americans would gamble online, and online payment processing companies such as the UC Group would greatly benefit.

And that’s exactly why the processor commissioned the study.

With the Federal government of the USA up to its eyeballs in debt, the UC Group hopes the prediction of $52 billion in tax revenues convinces the U.S. government to get rid of UIGEA and embrace online gambling.

It could work.

When UIGEA passed in 2006, the USA had a Republican-controlled House of Representatives, a Republican-controlled Senate and a Republican President.

Now the USA has a Democrat-controlled House and Senate and the President is a Democrat.

Republicans are more into so-called family values, one of which is protecting people from themselves by opposing gambling.

Democrats are more inclined to let people make decisions for themselves in regard to issues such as whether to gamble.

In light of all this, two U.S. congressmen, Barney Frank of Massachusetts and Jim McDermott of Washington, both Democrats, have announced they will soon introduce new legislation that will repeal UIGEA and formally legalize, regulate and tax Internet gambling in all forms in the USA.

“This analysis further illustrates that the U.S. is missing the opportunity to collect billions of dollars in Federal revenues,” said Jeffrey Sandman, spokesman for the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative, a group pushing to legalize online wagering in the USA.

“We are optimistic that the Obama administration and Congress will pay closer attention to this issue as they seek to find new revenues that can be generated without raising taxes for critical Federal, state and local government programs,” Sandman said. “Regulation is also needed to ensure there are safeguards to protect against compulsive and underage gambling, money laundering, fraud and identity theft.

“The current ban on Internet gambling has proved to be a failure as millions of Americans continue to gamble online each day. It’s time for Congress to take action to regulate and tax Internet gambling to protect consumers and ensure that the U.S. receives the billions in revenue it is due.”

(E-mail Tom Somach at tomsomach@yahoo.com.)