Crackdown on Internet gambling
A House panel approved legislation Thursday to crack down on the $12 billion Internet gambling industry by applying federal prohibitions to games like online poker, blackjack and roulette. The bill by Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va. , would update the 1961 Federal Wire Wager Act to apply to online gambling.
It also would outlaw electronic transmission of funds to pay for gambling bets and give law enforcement agencies authority to block such money transfers. Internet gambling already is mostly illegal in the United States, and most of as many as 2,300 gambling sites in existence are overseas.
The bill approved by the Judiciary Committee would "prevent offshore fly-by-night gambling businesses from violating the laws of all states," Goodlatte said. But half of the $12 billion spent on online gambling is thought to come from U. S. bettors and some companies in this country want to get in on the action. The American Gaming Association, the industry's largest lobby, has opposed online gambling in the past but last month backed a study of the feasibility of legalizing it.
May 27, 2006
Posted By Terry Goodwin
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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