Billions of dollars in the United States are spent on online casinos every year.  This is a pretty impressive statistic for a form of gambling entertainment that is supposed to be banned in the United States.  It simply goes to show that a government cannot stop the will of the people.  In the case of online casinos, much like with alcohol, it is probably a losing battle to attempt prohibition and regulation is the only real answer.

When you look at the statistics behind online casinos, the question arises as to why the United States even bothers attempting to ban online casinos; there is so much money to be made.  According to Goldman Sachs the investment bank, a regulated and legalized online casino industry in the United States could be valued at $12 billion dollars.  Currently the online casino industry worldwide is valued at roughly $20 billion dollars.

Before the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in 2006, the United States was the number one market for online casinos.  That is there reason so many companies were so financially devastated when they were forced to withdraw from their American customers.  All though major parts of the industry has left the United States, the fan base is still there and there are several more that would eventually get on board.

Regulations would go a long way in bringing more American players to online casinos.  There is still a large number of United States players that do not feel safe about online casinos and rightfully so since there is no regulation over the industry in this country.