Daniel Tucker of the California Nations Indian Gaming Associations is ruffling feathers among Indian tribes, warning that online casinos will damage business if they are aloud to be regulated.  It is not likely that online casinos are going to steal too much business from brick and mortar casinos.

In fact the whole situation reminds me of how music executives once felt about radio play.  Back in England the BBC would bring in popular bands and make a recorded version of their most popular song.  That way the recording belonged to the BBC and they cold play the tunes as much as the wanted.

This was necessary because record labels once felt that if people could listen to the music for free, at home, and all the time on the radio, why would people by the album?  We know no that radio play is the best thing for a music artist.  The more radio play, the more exposure, the more people are willing to buy the music.

Online casinos are likely to act as the radio for gambling.  Sure people can access gambling all the time online, but online casinos can only offer a fraction of the full casino experience.  The social element is can never be matched online no matter how many chat rooms and avatar the site offers.  

Online casinos are likely to introduce a whole new demographic of gamblers and those people will not be more inclined to play their favorite gambling games at a casino.  Online casinos will act as a gateway for many people.