Online gambling lobby spend increases

Online gambling lobbying spend in the US surged in the last quarter of 2010.

$4.66 million as spent by various industry groups lobbying members of Congress in the Oct-Dec quarter which is almost 50% more than the same period in 2009.

The big jump has been attributed to vested interests getting a little excited following a successful House Committee vote on HR2267 back in July.

The cash came flooding in with a view to keeping momentum rolling…but  it came in vain as it turned out with the bill left in limbo at year’s end.

The big contributors were the usual suspects…

– industry operators $1.64 million;
– the American Gaming Association $1.21 million;
– banks and credit card companies $662,114;
– various technology suppliers $145,000.