BARNEY STILL MAKING THE ONLINE GAMBLING HEADLINES

20 April 2007

Congressman hopes enough politicians will reconsider their 2006 vote to throw the UIGEA out

Congressman Barney Frank and his proposal to challenge the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act continued to make the headlines this week, primarily through an interview he gave to the respected Las Vegas Review-Journal.

The Congressman said that resistance is growing against the ban on financial transactions with online gambling sites that was enacted last year after being attached to the unrelated Safe Ports Act.

Frank told the Las Vegas Review-Journal: "I think a lot of members of Congress voted for that without having given it a lot of attention. And I think that there is growing opposition to it. I think that this may be a case where, after the fact of having voted for it, people don't like it and they reconsider."

Frank, the new chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said he plans to introduce his repeal proposal next week or the week after that.

The Journal reports that Democrat Shelley Berkley and Republican Jon Porter, both of Nevada, also plan to unveil legislation within a similar timeframe, but calling for a study of Internet gambling by the National Academy of Sciences. Frank said he may support the Nevadans' bill, but "I want to go beyond the study."

Explaining his objections to the UIGEA, Frank said: "Because I like to tell the truth. It has no valid public purpose in my judgment. It intrudes in people's private lives. One argument for it ... was that this activity [online poker] adds nothing to the GDP (gross domestic product). That's a chilling principle; that if something doesn't add to the gross domestic product we can ban it. That's a kind of ... corporatism that is very troubling to me."

Frank acknowledged Congress may not be ready to change the ban dramatically. "But I know (lawmakers) are hearing from people who don't like it now. So I'd say the situation is very fluid," Frank said.

Reports earlier in the week (see InfoPowa bulletins) indicated that lobbyists were meeting with Frank's Financial Services Committee, and that several leading online gambling portals are gearing up to encourage massive US player support for Congressman Frank's efforts.

Online Casino News courtesy of InfoPowa

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