Online Gambling

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Barney Frank Internet Gambling Bill

For those US online gambling players this is a very important bill. Not only because US citizens may be able to play online again, but because America is the land of the Free and people should be able to spend their own many any way they choose. Since gambling has been socially accepted for decades it is hard to say now you can’t do it just because it is online. And if the government was truly worried about the morals of gambling, then every single Indian casino and lottery outlet should be shut down. All US government cares about is loss of tax revenues off gambling, and they want a piece of the action. Now online gambling establishments welcome the government to regulate the casinos and gambling sites, as long as they can continue operations. I think the problem is ( my personal opinion ) that law makers will make it impossible for offshore corps, to get a license which is clearly against free trade. We will see. Below is a quote of Barney Franks proposal.

Washington, DC – Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) today introduced H.R. 2046, the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act of 2007 that would create an exemption to the ban on online gambling for properly licensed operators, allowing Americans to lawfully bet online.

The Act establishes a federal regulatory and enforcement framework to license companies to accept bets and wagers online from individuals in the U.S., to the extent permitted by individual states, Indian tribes and sport leagues. All such licenses would include protections against underage gambling, compulsive gambling, money laundering and fraud.

“The existing legislation is an inappropriate interference on the personal freedom of Americans and this interference should be undone,� said. Rep. Frank.

In 2006, the House passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, restricting the handling of payments by U.S. financial institutions for unlawful forms of Internet gambling. That law prohibits the use of payment instruments by such institutions to handle the processing of any form of Internet gambling that is illegal under U.S. federal or state law.

Traditional forms of legalized gambling already exist in nearly every state. By continuing to prohibit Internet gambling in the U.S., the U.S. has left Americans who choose to gamble online without meaningful consumer protections. The proposed legislation would institute practical and enforceable standards to bring transparency to Internet gambling and provide consumers the protections they expect and deserve.

The Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing entitled, “Can Internet gambling be regulated to protect consumers and the payments system?� at a date to be determined in June, 2007.

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