Despite the feds, business goes on from places like the Dominican Republic and Venezuela. And the operators point out that even if the U.S. market remains in limbo, world business is a growing market, with more and more countries allowing regulated Web gambling. But with the field growing increasingly crowded, many operators could get squeezed out. And even if online gambling eventually wins U.S. sanctions, the business faces a severe test. Old-line casinos, with huge financial muscle, are likely to jump into the market, possibly trampling many players.
More doubts inhibit online gambling.
Its integrity is under fire because of bettor complaints of alleged theft and cheating at sites. Some market watchers, noting that the traditional casino business is 10 times as large as the online market, wonder if gambling on a PC is too sterile to ever grow significantly. In the midst of this turmoil sits Total Entertainment, a company that was created from a dormant pet food business. Total Entertainment has struggled from the outset. And now the situation is so dicey that its auditor, Grant Thornton , said in a federal filing last December that the future of the business is in doubt.