Real estate mogul Donald Trump has partnered with a New York hedge fund to announce plans to launch a Trump-branded gambling website once Congress legalizes and regulates the controversial activity of online gambling.

The high-profile debate over the legalization of online gambling has an important ally in Trump. “Internet gaming makes total sense,” Trump explained, expressing interest in keeping keep Americans’ gambling dollars within U.S. borders. “There is so much money leaving the U.S. and the country is losing potential revenues,” he added.

Trump has since made his support for online gambling very public. The Union Gaming Group estimated that Americans spent approximately $3 billion annually on online poker before April 15, when three online poker website owners were indicted and their operations shut down.

In total, the group reported that online gaming took in $24 billion in revenue last year, with the American commercial casino industry raking in $34.6 billion – funds Trump believes should be kept within the U.S.

“Other countries are taking a lot of business away from the U.S.,” Trump said. He already owns and operates two casinos in Atlantic City and is only one of a growing list of casino industry executives to support the legalization of online poker.

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