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Another possible step towards legalizing internet poker in the U.S. May be happening. The casino and gaming industry has been against online gambling, for fears that it would cut into their profits, as online poker casino goers would just stay home and play on their computers. However, the American Gaming Association, the association that represents the U.S. Gaming industry, has said it could support legal online poker gaming. In a new policy statement, the American Gaming Association said it was open to the concept of legalized Internet gaming, as long as a regulatory structure was in place to protect consumers and the game’s integrity. But the organization, which represents the bulk of the nation’s casino operators and slot machine manufacturers, has not taken a stance on any of the bills now floating through Congress that could legalize all or some forms of Internet gaming, estimated to be a $26 billion a year industry. The policy is a change from the neutral stance toward Internet gaming the organization has taken since 2008. Before taking that view, the American Gaming Association supported a congressionally backed independent study of Internet gaming by the National Research Council at the National Academy of Sciences. Internet gaming has been hotly debated in Washington, D.C., for much of the past decade. In 2006, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act made it a crime for banks and other financial institutions to process transactions used in online gaming. Still, the American Gaming Association estimated $5.9 billion was wagered by U.S. residents with offshore online gambling companies in 2008 while $21 billion was bet by players worldwide.