Bill Filed To Remove Ban On Online Casinos

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In a new attempt to reintroduce online poker, a Democratic lawmaker have again filed a bill seeking to remove the ban on Internet gambling.

According to Massachusetts Representative Barney Frank, who introduced the bill, the move calls for the Treasury Department to license and regulate all online gambling sites that would cater to American clients.

In a news conference, Frank also added that the government can collect more tax revenues once Internet gaming is legalized. Frank is chairman ot the House Financial Services Committee.

Frank also added that the legality of Internet gambling should be a matter of personal liberty. He also added that while the government should not encourage gambling, it should not prohibit it either.

The move was supported by about two dozen co-sponsors and was welcomed by poker gamer clubs, such as the Poker Players Alliance. Frank, however, did not seek the backing of the Obama administration or top leaders of either the house or the senate.

Not everyone is convinced of the bill’s effectiveness, though. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for its part, raised doubts that the bill would be effective in lowering game addiction. NCAA said that such a move might even increase gambling on sport games. This the association relayed in a letter to the House Financial Services Committee.

Senate majority floor leader and fellow Democrat Harry Reid also voiced his opposition to the lifting of the Internet casino ban. He asks whether the government can effectively monitor and regulate online casinos once the law is in effect.

“Gaming is an important industry to the state and anything that affects it needs to be reviewed carefully,” Reid said through his spokesman Jim Manley.

Opponents of the bill have begun lobbying to block it in congress.

Internet casinos are prevented by law to transact through financial institutions in the country.