Online Gambling Legislation Takes Giant Step Forward

Major problems to the U.S. economy had forced the House Financial Services Committee to put the issue of online gambling on the back burner in recent months; however, over the last few days, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act has come to the forefront.

This legislation introduced by Committee Chairman Barney Frank would lift the ban on Internet gambling that was imposed with the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act back in 2006.

This week the bill, H.R.2267, was discussed extensively in a full committee hearing.

Testimony was heard from Ed Williams, the president and CEO of Discovery Federal Credit Union; Tom Malkasian, Director of Strategic Planning at Commerce Casino; Chairwoman Lynn Malerba of the Mohegan Tribe of Indians; Law Enforcement Consultant Michael Fagan; and professional poker player Annie Duke, representing the Poker Players Alliance.

Upon the completion of the committee hearing, the process of amending and rewriting the proposed legislation is set to begin. The mark up was immediately scheduled for Tuesday, July 27th.

This is an extremely good sign for gambling proponents.

“This mark up demonstrates that Congress is serious about moving Chairman Frank’s bill forward,” said Michael Waxman, spokesperson for the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative.

Waxman went on to say that the bill’s passage would mean more protection for online gamblers, the creation of tens of thousands of jobs in a new U.S. market and billions in revenue for federal and state governments.