GREAT FALLS -- Both Montana's gambling industry and its regulators are getting worried about the growth of gambling on the Internet.
Virtually any kind of game, and any kind of stakes, are available on the Internet, 24 hours a day, and it apparently is completely beyond control of the state. At least for now.
An investigation by the Great Falls Tribune found that Casino on Net, for example, offers computer users blackjack, roulette, slot machines and video poker 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It is electronically transmitted from Antigua, an island in the Caribbean.
More than 60 casinos are up and running on the Internet, according to the current issue of Casino Player magazine, and 45 more are open exclusively for booking sports wagers.
"We have been cautious in our approach to gambling, but this turns it all upside down," said Attorney General Joe Mazurek. "Our policy concern is that we lose control. We have no ability to protect our citizens or the existing businesses that have operated by our rules."
The Gambling Control Division has no idea how much Internet gambling is occurring in Montana. "It's my opinion that Internet gambling in Montana is illegal based on the strict construction of state law that says all gambling in Montana is illegal except as specifically provided by law, and there's no provision for this kind of gambling," said Jim Oppedahl, administrator of the division.
"But the Web site is one jurisdiction and the physical linking is in another," Oppedahl added. "That causes a number of regulatory and law enforcement difficulties that we're only now beginning to address."
Minnesota is suing an Internet provider for allowing illegal gambling activities, and Montana has filed a friend of the court brief in that case. But some wonder what good that will do.
"Even if you do pass new laws, I don't foresee the day that regulators will be knocking on doors to catch people at home gambling," said Dennis Casey, executive director of the Montana Gaming Association.
Montana casino operators operate under laws that prohibit Las Vegas-style gambling, restrict hours of operation, limit the number of machines in one location, require an 80% payout, and cap the amount of the largest jackpot. The operators paid the state $33.8 million in fiscal 1997 on gross gambling revenues of $225 million.
"The gaming industry in Montana has taken no position (on Internet gambling), but my members are concerned about the competition," Casey told the Tribune.
That concern is heightened by the fact that the growth in gambling revenues has leveled off in the past few years. Internet gambling was introduced in August 1995.
Casey doubts that Internet gambling is siphoning off Montana casino revenues. He suspects, instead, that the state's gambling industry has passed through its early growth phase and has captured most of the available revenue.
"Many people like to go out to taverns and casinos, and they enjoy the atmosphere of those places as part of the package," he adds. "I don't know whether people are as interested in sitting alone in their living rooms in front of a PC to gamble."