WASHINGTON (AFP) - Americans spent $2.6 billion on gambling websites in 2012, according to a study released Tuesday by the casino industry as it renewed a push for Congress to regulate online betting.
The American Gaming Association, which released the study, said it highlights the need for federal legislation to end the state of "ambiguity" on Internet wagering.
The study by the British-based research firm H2 Gambling Capital found Americans accounted for a significant share of the $33 billion worldwide online gambling market, despite the legal limbo of most Internet betting.
After years of treating online gambling as criminal, the US government quietly shifted its stand in late 2011 when the Justice Department released an opinion stating that only sports betting should be prohibited under a 1961 federal law known as the Wire Act.
This opened the door to online poker, which is hugely popular on the Internet, and possibly other casino games along with state lotteries.
With no federal legislation in place, several states have begun their own efforts, with a handful acting to legalize some forms of online betting.
The study came ahead of the release of "Runner, Runner," a film about a US university student who confronts the world of organized crime after losing his tuition money playing online poker.
