US Online Gambling Legislation Moving Quickly; Mark Up On Tuesday

The online gambling debate may soon heat up in the US Congress with Representative Barney Frank pushing his proposed legislation that would regulate Internet gambling in the country. On Wednesday, a hearing was held regarding the legislation, and a mark up date has been set for next Tuesday.

Many industry insiders expected that the mark up stage would come several weeks down the road, but that will not be the case. Rep. Frank may believe that the time to strike is now, with Democratic leaders gaining momentum in the past couple of weeks.

Already, a financial reform bill has passed this week, and on Thursday President Obama signed legislation that will extend unemployment benefits to thousands of Americans who lost their benefits back in June. With the new-found momentum, Frank will attempt to finally overturn the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.

The UIGEA was created to stop Internet gambling in the US, but in the first few months of its existence, the law has done little to deter online gambling. Millions of gamblers in the country are logging into online poker sites on a daily basis.

Financial institutions have been saddled with the responsibility of blocking transactions to and from online gambling sites, yet they have argued that the UIGEA does not define what constitutes an illegal betting activity.

The mark up stage that begins on Tuesday will be crucial to the outcome of the vote on Frank's legislation. Several areas of concern were raised during the hearing on Wednesday, and the House Financial Committee Chairman has vowed to make the necessary adjustments to satisfy those concerns.

Once the mark up is complete, the bill will then move towards a vote. Even if the House passed the legislation, it would take some convincing to get the bill through the Senate. Still, Frank is confident that a growing number of lawmakers understand the flaws in the UIGEA, and will vote in favor of changing the current online gambling system.

July 23, 2010
Posted By Larry Rutherford
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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