Using data from Yield Sec, the CFG states that illegal gambling operators are robbing the states of Minnesota, New Jersey, and New York of $9.5 billion in gross gaming revenue. As a result, the CFG calls for greater federal intervention.

Those pleas aren’t likely to fall on deaf ears, however. A better analogy is tied hands.

Campaign for Fairer Gambling shares its take on illegal gaming in three states

The CFG put its number to the impact of illegal online gambling in Minnesota, New Jersey and New York in a report out May 30. Yield Sec, an online marketplace intelligence platform, produced the revenue and other estimates.

Yield Sec relied on data from web users’ browsing activity to produce its revenue estimates. For example, Yield Sec would measure the duration of time on illegal gambling sites and the frequency of such visits associated with millions of IP addresses in the three states.

Using its artificial intelligence analysis tools, Yield Sec assigned dollar values to that activity. While the CFG believes analysis and the resulting estimates are sound, it doesn’t give much credence to the current regulatory systems in the same states regarding their ability to limit the activity of unlicensed online gambling operators.

CFG official says current framework accommodates illegal gambling

In a May 30 news release, CFG founder Derek Webb made his opinion about the enforcement efforts around gambling laws clear.

"The dominance of illegal online gambling operators remains unchallenged despite the expansion of legal gambling,” Webb said. "Sector-friendly legislation, regulation, and tax rates have not made much of a dent. Despite wildly different legal regimes, these three states continue to accommodate over 800 illegal operators who operate with zero regard for state law. This is one reason why we need federal involvement in the oversight of online gambling.”

While Webb raises legitimate concerns over the impact that illegal gambling has on communities, the course he prescribes to address the problem suffers from one logical fallacy. The grass is not necessarily greener.