More US Online Casino Withdrawal
The US horseracing industry just lost another viable online sportsbetting site
this week with the announcement that Pinnacle Sports has ceased to offer
horserace betting in the US market. The company posted a brief but thorough note
to its players about the new policy but did not give any specific reasons for
the company’s decision. Pinnacle’s service update note stated that the company
was not withdrawing entirely from the US internet gambling market – Pinnacle
will still offer instant online casino and poker options.
Online casinos operating in the US market have been under increasing pressure
from the Federal and state governments to leave the market; the Department of
Justice even goes so far as to attempt to intimidate and slap criminal charges
on those executives who operate internet gambling sites within the US market.
The statement though alludes to the growing US problems as one of the factors
for exiting the horserace betting industry. The note elaborates, “The declining
interest of clients in racing in general, has prompted us to discontinue
wagering on daily North American horse racing with immediate effect.”
Pinnacle is certainly not the first online casino gambling group to begin
backpedaling and exiting the US internet gambling market – Microgaming has
withdrawn nearly completely from the market. What’s interesting though is the
fact that sportsbetting on horseraces through the internet is still legal in the
US because of legislative carve-outs…perhaps it’s Pinnacle’s instant online
casino offerings that have put the company in a precarious position with the US
authorities – it wouldn’t be much of a surprise if this were the case. Perhaps
new information about what prompted the decision will be revealed in the coming
weeks. |