05 Feb 09

US Democrat To Reintroduce Internet Gambling Legislation

American Democrat Congressman Barney Frank has said in an interview with Financial Times that he will reintroduce the legislation meant to favour Internet gambling in the following weeks. The purpose of the bill is to "establish a licensing and regulatory framework for online gambling operators".

The online gambling in the United States is a serious issue which has been going on ever since the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, or UIGEA. With several states already concluding that poker is a game of skill rather than luck and therefore not gambling, the UIGEA might finally be overturned and give American citizens the right to play online poker.

In an interview with Financial Times, US Democrat Congressman Barney Frank said that he will introduce a favourable Internet gambling bill "over the next couple of weeks", whose purpose is to "establish a licensing and regulatory framework for online gambling operators".

Frank believes the time is right to overturn the last-minute changes done by the Bush administration in the field of online gambling, and that American people should have the freedom to do this: "I expect an Obama DoJ to be less zealous about locking people up. These outrageous arrests in transit – they should be stopping that stuff."

The climate seems to be ripe for such a bill, especially given the facts that there is a Liberal President, a Democrat-based Congress and the interest to find new tax sources. Should this bill pass, licensing and regulating the online gambling industry would mean a substantial revenue for the budget, as well as a legal frame for these businesses.

This news comes just after the Midnight Rule Act, or MRA, has been sent to hearing, as the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law has included it in a hearing entitled "Midnight Rulemaking: Shedding Some Light", dedicated to the last-minute changes by the Bush administration.