Online gambling on Facebook is much farther away than we think

Like, another-two-years-away far. Bwin.party Digital Entertainment co-CEO Jim Ryan said as much during the recent Global iGaming Summit & Expo in San Francisco, according to VentureBeat. The online gambling executive believes that the U.S. market won't be ready for nationwide online gambling until 2014, and that's assuming the states get their act together in time.

A recent Department of Justice decision essentially put it up to the states to decide whether they'd like to legalize online gambling. But here's the issue: Online gaming--and pretty much all of the Internet, for that matter--doesn't operate at the state level. It works on a global (or at the very least country-wide) level. There are numerous legalities and regulations to be considered now that online gambling will be handled by the states. Age and location verification alone are gargantuan hurdles.

Gambling tax expert Rob Bossart made this example, according to VentureBeat: "If a consumer uses an online gambling app on a mobile phone while in Arizona, would the consumer be breaking a law? Or would they have to pay taxes to the state of California?"

While game makers and casino operators already have their ducks in a row for the social-gambling-meets-social-gaming collision, we're a ways away from this being a nationwide reality. Regardless, gambling execs are determined. "We have all missed the opportunity to build tournament-style gambling games (for no real-money betting) on Facebook," online gambling firm PKR CEO Malcolm Graham said. "But in the next 12 months to 18 months, our gambling industry will move onto Facebook."

Are you excited for or dreading the onset of gambling on Facebook? What will this do the social games world? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.