Fighting H.R. 4777, the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act

[lots0]

else you may just aswell admit you're living in the wrong country.

I won't admit that.

But I will admit that I am living with the wrong government...

[Simmo!]

I won't admit that.

But I will admit that I am living with the wrong government...

Not for much longer by the looks of things

[Simmo!]

Just stumbled on this. It may have already been mentioned, but it discusses Prohibition vs. Regulation:

http://www.gambling-bill.com/

Simmo!

[lots0]

Good Site Simmo.


I do find it very interesting that “Ever since they (online casinos) first appeared, members of Congress have been actively trying to pass legislation that would ban online gambling.”

Why would these boneheads start trying to ban online gambling before there was ANY information at all about the impact of online gambling? I mean it was a totally new thing, never seen before, for all these boneheads knew online gambling was going to be a boon to the US that would bail the government out of its National Debt or fund Schools and Hospitals...

Banning something before you even know what it is or what its impact is going to be is not very smart and screams out that there are ‘hidden motives’ for trying to ban online casinos.

[Cynthia777]

I don't see any source for that report over at his site. Maybe Cynthia can weigh in on this?

Unfortunately, sdaddy.. it appears to be on the agenda:

http://www.rules.house.gov/109_2nd/a...nce_hr4411.htm

However, this is simply an announcement for proposing amendments to this bill, which, IMO, could (and usually does) drag the process out even further...at least insofar as having the bill passed THIS year

P.S. (sorry I haven't been on here for awhile...missed u guys!)

[Westland Bowl]

I posted the following as a separate thread also......
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Damian Dunlap posted this at Online Players Union...
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The full U.S. House of Representatives is expected to debate next week legislation that would attempt to ban Internet gambling, a $12 billion-a-year industry that gets half its revenue from American gamblers, two Republican lawmakers said on Thursday.

The legislation to be debated blends two versions of bills that have been offered by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (news, bio, voting record) of Virginia and Rep. Jim Leach (news, bio, voting record) of Iowa, the two said in a statement.
Leach's bill has been approved by both the House Financial Services Committee and the House Judiciary Committee. It has broad support among conservative and religious activist groups, who want to keep gambling out of easy reach of minors.

The anti-gambling bill is expected to be debated by the full House as early as Wednesday, a legislative aide said.

However, it remains unclear whether the Senate will pass similar legislation as Congress scrambles to finish its work before the November general elections. Arizona Republican Sen. Jon Kyl (news, bio, voting record) has introduced a bill similar to Leach's House bill but it has languished in the Senate.

Investors in some British-based gaming companies such as Party Gaming Plc and 888 Holdings have closely monitored U.S. legislation.

Although the U.S. Justice Department says a 1961 law that forbids interstate telephone betting also applies to the Internet, the House lawmakers say their legislation would clarify that point for prosecutors. It would also prohibit gambling businesses from settling Internet wagers with credit cards, checks or fund transfers.

"Gambling on the Internet has become an extremely lucrative business," Goodlatte said. "These offshore, fly-by-night Internet gambling operators are unlicensed, untaxed and unregulated and are sucking billions of dollars out of the United States."

An estimated 2,300 gambling sites now exist on the Internet, the lawmakers said.

[sdaddy]

I just learned that tomorrow is the day for debate of H.R. 4777 on the House floor. I saw the announcement on C-SPAN, the public affairs channel that covers the U.S. House of Representatives.

Legislative business is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. EST. You can watch streaming broadcasts of House proceedings over the web through this link:

http://www.c-span.org/watch/index.asp

[SlotsWizard]

I just learned that tomorrow is the day for debate of H.R. 4777 on the House floor.

They're also voting on HR4411 tomorrow. This is how one of the politicans summed up internet gambling:

"Just click the mouse and lose your house."

I mean, seriously. Come on.

I have an idea! Let's move the politicians from Washington D.C. to Washington state, where they can live happily ever after in an anti-internet-gambling heaven. They can continue to take their frequent and lengthy vacations in Hawaii, the other anti-gambling paradise. Just leave the other damned 48 states alone.

[jetset]

The online gambling element in this "American Values Agenda" that has pushed the Goodlatte and Leach merged Bills forward so quickly is getting more mainstream coverage internationally than all the other stuff (like flagburning) on that agenda.

My fave quote on this topic at the moment comes from a Sacremento lawyer, who said:

"Here's the country that has Las Vegas, Atlantic City, riverboats up to Iowa and Indian gambling under every tree. Not to mention state lotteries. Now you're going to turn around and say Internet casinos are undermining the moral tone of the United States? It's just plain silly."

And he didn't even mention the horse racing exceptions!!!!

[Kosop]

I am sure it has been mentioned before, but it can always use some reinforcement. The goverment can ban whatever it wants, but it does not have the logistics to enforce the ban. Alcohol was banned, people still drank. Drugs are illegal, people still do drugs. All this does is take a form of entertainment and reduce it to the level of child porn. Hey, maybe for giggles they will set up sting operations? 'Casino America! 1000 percent sign up bonus, no WR!' Sign up, get pinched by the feds, get to be on the local news!

Are we really to assume that they are going to set up a room with 100,000 puters and 100,000 workers who will do nothing but watch internet activity and see which pages we are going to? Maybe snoop every puter in the US or make it a requirement that we allow them to spy? How would they do this? What US citizen would let them?

It's all smoke, 'saving our citizens from themselves'. Apparently, with the nuclear threat from North Korea, the nuclear threat from Iran, an army stretched woefully thin, a deficit of biblical proportions, etc..., they are merely trying to show that they can at least get SOMETHING done.

But, when it passes, and don't kid yourselves, it is going to pass...think of the new markets which will open up in encryption? Do we need it for credit card transactions? Hell no, we need it for AOL!

I love public forums, I can babble all I want!

What is going to happen when the legislation passes but they realize that they cannot enforce it? They will hand it out to the states and tell THEM to enforce it. New borders will be set and not by state boundries. You can visit the West Coast Net, which has active monitors to ensure you are not looking at tobacco ads, or booze, or porn, or gambling. Can pop onto the Network of Southern States where you can certainly look at anything you want, and gamble till you spew, but it costs 14 cents a minute and you need to send in a blood sample. You can always use the New England/Colony networks, but all you get there are religious ads and a CNN reporter telling you how good life is while he is surrounded by the National Guard.

It is a grim picture, but all this freedom of the internet stuff must stop! How are we supposed to control our population if they are not watching 187 channels of subsidized Three's Company?

Overall, I wouldn't worry too much about it. When the secret service starts kicking in your door due to your betting habits, I would maybe be a tad more concerned. We all know that the legislation is merely about the tax money they are losing and not about protecting anyone. But, the ramifications should be fun to watch. If you want to shut down gambling, try starting with State Lotteries. Shut down Vegas. Make it a blanket ban on all forms of gambling. You cannot call one safe while calling another immoral. This is not Cock Fighting!