A Washington state senator wants to apply state laws about gambling to Wall Street. Us Senator Maria Cantwell says gaming laws could be used to oversee what she termed "casino capitalism." US Senator Cantwell wants to give state attorney generals the power to handle financial markets, a measure that seems clearly to fly in the face of the spirit and letter of the Commerce Clause. Using the popular conceit of the economic crisis as result of gambling behavior by investors, Cantwell wants to regulate derivatives markets that encourage speculative behavior. Derivatives are seen as essentially betting on the market performance of primary investments. States have previously regulated gambling on stock market movement, going back to bans against betting on market trends at the turn of the 19th century.says Maryland law professor Michael Greenberger.Maria Cantwell wants laws allowing state legal authorities to examine and regulate derivatives markets left unsupervised by Congress. Her backers say the securities industry has contacted her to negotiate changes in law in an effort to persuade her not to use the gambling statutes as a method of attack on investments.Venture-backed start-ups operating in the 3 most popular forms of online gambling including poker, horse racing and sports betting – stand to see major impacts from proposals winding their way through Congress that could legalize certain types of online betting. While the start-ups are keeping a close eye on the bills’ progress – and in some cases positioning themselves for possible major changes that most believe that any new laws won’t be enacted for at least another year, and possibly longer.Gerard Cunningham, the president of Betfair US, the world’s largest legal online gambling company, isn’t confident that the bills will get their proper hearing in Congress soon.Gerard Cunningham said.Gerard Cunningham also said that the company saw revenue in the last 12 months of $50 million in the U.S. and more than $500 million outside the U.S. The company is experienced in understanding and navigating legal issues around gambling in many locales. It’s in a great position to turn on its online casino games in the U.S. if they are legalized.