The biggest potential change would come in the United States, where Rep. Barney Frank, D-Massachusetts, is expected to introduce legislation in a few days aimed at repealing the Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. “He supports it and wants to move forward,” said Steve Adamske, director of communications for the House Financial Services Committee, of which Frank is chairman. “There are a lot of games of chance where governments don’t get revenue,” said Gavin Kelleher, a researcher at H2 Gambling Capital in Ireland.

Frank hasn’t done it once before, in 2007, but liberalization advocates think they might get a friendlier audience in Washington this time. President Barack Obama boasted of his poker prowess on the campaign trail and Democrats, who are seen as less hostile than Republicans to Internet gambling, have tightened their grip on Congress.

Analysts say that may be a bit ahead of the game. Opponents of repeal, including the Christian Coalition of America and the National Football League, have vowed to fight any effort to end the ban. Michele Combs, a spokeswoman for the Christian Coalition, said the group was preparing for a massive letter-writing and lobbying campaign to try to prevent any relaxation of the law.

Meanwhile, US sports leagues are concerned that the ease of online betting increases the chances of game fixing. Even the most optimistic advocates of online casino gaming and betting acknowledge that Internet sports betting is highly unlikely to be legalized, unlike poker or casino gaming. “Now there is a better chance that some kind of gaming legislation will be passed,” Nick said.

Batram, an analyst at KBC Peel Hunt, a brokerage firm in London. “But it took longer than expected to implement anti-gaming legislation, so maybe it will take longer than expected to remove it.”

Since the 2006 law was passed, North America has been passed by Europe and Asia, according to figures from H2 Gambling Capital. The law makes it illegal for financial institutions to handle payments to online casino gaming and betting sites [http://www.casinogamearena.com]. Some people use offshore payment processors to ensure that online gambling remains a great business.

Now, analysts say one possibility for European companies should the ban be lifted would be to form partnerships with US casino operators. That would allow European companies like PartyGaming to share their experience online. Operating alone, they could find it difficult to obtain licenses given their history of clashes with US law enforcement, analysts said.

Until now, Las Vegas executives 바카라사이트  have maintained a cautious stance on legalizing online gambling. Steve Wynn, CEO of Wynn Resorts, said in an email that he thought it would be “impossible to regulate and while it would be in our company’s interest, we strongly oppose it,” he said.

Several other online betting companies whose shares are traded in London, including 888 Holdings and Sportingbet, are still in talks with the US Department of Justice. Analysts expect that, along with companies such as Bwin International, whose shares are traded in Vienna, participate in a round of consolidation in the industry, along with a possible return to the United States.