22-02-2006 Morgan Stanley says "adverse regulatory outcome is unlikely"

The investment bank analyzed the bills proposed by Bob Goodlatte and Jim Leach in relation to the previously failed attempts and to the political timing, coming to the conclusion that these potentially unpopular proposals may well face a lack of political support.

Morgan Stanley said the over 30 million online bettors in the US are a major impediment to the ban of online gambling considering the forthcoming November elections.

The bank concluded in its report that the US legal scene is likely to remain "a grey area" for at least the next 18 to 24 months, while over time the size and scale of the industry will dominate the attempts to prohibit online gambling, which will be eventually regulated as a legitimate leisure activity.