New Online Gambling Regulation Bill Proposal Helps States

The revised version of the Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax Enforcement Act was introduced on Monday by Representative Jim McDermott. The major changes that were made will be beneficial to individual states.

Under the new proposal, individual states and Tribal governments will be eligible to receive six percent of the revenue that is generated from online gamblers in their jurisdictions. This revenue sharing idea may help McDermott win over some key lawmakers when the debate begins over Internet gambling.

Representative Barney Frank, who has his own proposed online gambling legislation, has signed on to McDermott's Bill as a co-sponsor. The two lawmakers have been pushing for legislators to overturn the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.

The UIGEA was put in place back in 2006, but has yet to go into effect. Late last year, Frank and other lawmakers successfully lobbied to have the rules for the UIGEA delayed. They now have until June to take up these new legislative proposals.

Other co-sponsors of the Bill that was introduced Monday include John Larson, Chair of the House Democratic Caucus, and Earl Blumenauer. McDermott's bill will be presented as a companion to the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act that Frank offered last year.

Several groups have thrown their support behind the new legislation. On Monday, Beneficial Holdings, a gaming management company, announced that they would be supporting the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative. The company is planning their Internet casino to be opened in April, but the site will not accept US customers.

March 29, 2010
Posted By Terry Goodwin
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
Submit News!