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SALT LAKE CITY -- Utah is considering supporting a national bill that regulates online gambling, but the measure could potentially present the state with a major dilemma.
"It would open up, probably, the state of Utah to Indian gaming," Attorney General Mark Shurtleff told KSL Newsradio.
Utah currently keeps gambling off the reservation by banning all forms. There are laws against gambling on the Internet, but literally none of them -- in Utah or elsewhere across the country -- are enforced.
"It's going to be an interesting thing for Utah to debate," Shurtleff said. "If you agree to be included in this regulation nationwide, are we saying that we're allowing Internet gambling?" he asked.
Shurtleff says the problem is if the state simply prohibits online gambling like it does now, Utah has no ability to protect people from scammers.
"These sites are unregulated, so there's all kinds of unscrupulous behavior going on," Shurtleff said. "There's no way, you know, right now if you go online and play poker -- unless it's exactly head-to-head, peer-to-peer -- that the games aren't rigged in a way that's going to make you lose."
The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., mandates age requirements and licensing. There's also talk about possibly taxing those regulated Internet gambling sites.
Sunday, Shurtleff met in Washington, D.C., with lawyers from the gaming industry to discuss ways to keep Utah in favor of the measure without opening up the state to other forms of gambling.
"The good news is, we're back here, we're talking about it," Shurtleff said. "They're interested in finding a way for us to be able to do that."
E-mail: aadams@ksl.com
