Will the industry engage in the U.S. political process this time?

sdaddy

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I recall reading on this forum and elsewhere all the recriminations over the online casino industry's failure to lobby the U.S. Congress prior to the passage of the UIGEA.

Well, the latest reports are that Rep. Barney Frank could introduce legislation repealing the UIGEA as soon as mid-April.

My question is, will the industry make an effort to significantly engage in the legislative process this time, or will it be sitting on the sidelines again? Is there anything going on behind the scenes that we have not been reading about?
 
The industry has always lobbied strongly.

This is done behind closed doors and needs to be that way.

The lobby lost a lot when BOS was drawn out of the equation, the sports sector got spooked and quit.

That is what made the passage of the law possible. Good planning on the part of the DOJ.

The lobbies continue to be strong, and they have refocussed.

The only organization lobbying publicly is the poker players. That is because they are riding on player support. You should give it to them, it matters.
 
^That's good to hear that lobbying efforts are in the works. I just hope it's adequate this time to fight the special interests wanting to keep the UIGEA in place, which, according the the recent USA Today article, spent around $25 million pushing their agenda in the last congress.


The only organization lobbying publicly is the poker players. That is because they are riding on player support. You should give it to them, it matters.
Honestly, as a non-poker player, I've got mixed feelings getting behind groups like the PPA. I commend their organizational effort, but I think that their narrow focus on adding a "carve-out" exception to the UIGEA is selling out the interests of other players. That's why I was glad to hear that Rep. Frank opted to go for a full repeal of the UIGEA over the wishes of the PPA.
 
Frank represents the banking interests, not the gambling interests.

They just happen to be the same at the time....

I know what you mean about the Poker guys following their own agenda. It bugs me too.
 
Frank represents the banking interests, not the gambling interests.

They just happen to be the same at the time....

I know what you mean about the Poker guys following their own agenda. It bugs me too.


Not quite true. If you listen to Frank's speech in the House, he emphsizes that it is ridiculous to outlaw what adults do in their own homes. He states that it is like prohibition and it never works." Just because college students drink too much, should we ban all alcohol ?" he asks. I get the feeling Barney has spun the wheel a few times himself,or gone "all in", and perhaps he likes it.:D
 
I sincerly hope that the online casino industry does a better job lobbying after the UIGEA than they did before the passing of the UIEGA. The industry underestimated the anti-gambling forces in the US enourmously and now they are paying for it. They never thought that serious anti-gambling legislation could be passed and they did not believe that anti-gambling laws would be enforced as hard as they have. Hopefully the passing of the UIEGA has been a wakeup call.
 
I sincerly hope that the online casino industry does a better job lobbying after the UIGEA than they did before the passing of the UIEGA. The industry underestimated the anti-gambling forces in the US enourmously and now they are paying for it. They never thought that serious anti-gambling legislation could be passed and they did not believe that anti-gambling laws would be enforced as hard as they have. Hopefully the passing of the UIEGA has been a wakeup call.
Very well put.
 
I would not hold too much hope for Rep Barney Frank's bill to go anywhere.

The sad fact of the matter is that Rep Frank is one of three openly Gay members of Congress. Not sad because Rep Frank is Gay, sad because his sexual preference DOES matter in the halls of Congress...

3 openly Gay members of Congress out of 435...

The odds for Rep Frank passing any bill into law without overwhelming support from the Democratic leadership is about a Billion to .0001...

So far the Democratic Leadership has stayed quiet on this issue, which is a surprise as Senator Harry Reid (Senate Majority Leader) was raised in a very small desert town in Nevada where Gambling and Prostitution were the only local industry's around.

According to Senator Reid his Mother did laundry for the local whore houses to get by and his father was a miner... in town where mining died before Senator Harry Reid was born.

Some interesting people in politics...
 
I would not hold too much hope for Rep Barney Frank's bill to go anywhere.

The sad fact of the matter is that Rep Frank is one of three openly Gay members of Congress. Not sad because Rep Frank is Gay, sad because his sexual preference DOES matter in the halls of Congress...

3 openly Gay members of Congress out of 435...

The odds for Rep Frank passing any bill into law without overwhelming support from the Democratic leadership is about a Billion to .0001...

So far the Democratic Leadership has stayed quiet on this issue, which is a surprise as Senator Harry Reid (Senate Majority Leader) was raised in a very small desert town in Nevada where Gambling and Prostitution were the only local industry's around.

According to Senator Reid his Mother did laundry for the local whore houses to get by and his father was a miner... in town where mining died before Senator Harry Reid was born.

Some interesting people in politics...




Congressman Frank is quite effective really. He has 11 bills he has sponsored in the House since Feb. Two have passed, and the 9 others are under consideration, so he has the respect of his collegues. Plus, this issue should create more intense discussion this time since the repeal would not be piggy-backed onto another bill, as the cowards did when they passed the anti-gambling act in the first place under the Republican controlled congress. I for one plan on e-mailing him to offer my support of him for even considering the appeal.
:thumbsup:
 
The votes are not there in the senate to overturn it. And the President will Veto it! It's clear that America wants control of online gambling. And before they allow it. America will run it from their own shores.
 
There's one thing the online casino industry could do which wouldn't cost any money and I think would be very effective. Why doesn't it contact its US players prior to an important vote in Congress on internet gambling and urge them to express their views to their elected representatives? If only the industry would realize that it holds the contact info for a lot of voters in the US who would be supportive on this issue.

As far as I recall, I've never received such a communication. However, I did speak with a casino manager I know well prior to the Congressional elections last November. I told her about the important race in which Sen. Kyl was running for re-election and she agreed to look into contacting her players in Arizona about it. I might try this effort again prior to the vote on Frank's bill to repeal the UIGEA.
 
The problem always seems to be a lack of real cohesion in the industry - this is an example. Several of the big companies did email their players when Goodlatte was trying to get his Bill through pre-UIGEA but it was not done on a large scale and in an integrated manner.

And then the UIGEA seemed to take everyone by surprise (I have to confess I include myself in that - I truly didn't think it would be accepted so easily) I also believe there was a lot of complacency which is in hindsight regretted.

Much the same can be said for media serving the industry - some tried to keep the issue front of mind with the players, operators and affiliates throughout whilst others did little. And the IGC, which could have been a unifying influence had discarded sportsbooks membership and contented itself with a few statements but little else (unless they had lobbying activity I was not aware of going on in the background)

IMO the business is just not as well organised as, say the horseracing industry which is bigger, spends a lot, speaks with a unified voice and *contributes* to the right Congressional pockets!
 
ONLINE GAMING WAS ALSO SCREWED BY THE U.S. MEDIA

Most news stories regarding the impending legislation and after it was passed were definately on the side of the Government and not the officials. They could have helped us but u.s. citizens that played online were never represented in a positive way by the media. They simply recited the rediculous moral issues, teens gambling and losing their money(how much money does a teen have to lose by the way?). Moral issue?, the media missed the boat on that one, lotteries, horse racing, casinos MORALLY o.k as long as it is done within the u.s.? The u.s. media just repeats what they are told by the gov. officials. They obviously no longer research stories. They don't investigate what they are reporting. The big new organizations all basically report the same thing. Every news station basically has the same news.

Citizens lack a means of voicing their opinions. It doesn't matter about the vote. We can only vote for representatives, senators and congressmen from our districts. Elected officials from other states are on committees voting on things that affect every citizen, yet they only answer correspondence from own constituents.

Media on our side is the best route.

That said, there is no way they are going to back off this now. They have been trying to do this one way or another for to long. Best we can hope for is that they allow online gaming in the u.s.

AND....... I have not seen any major legislation repealed in recent times. They usually just keep amending it and it gets worse and worse and more complicated, and the appeals courts are left to figure out the legallities.
 
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I was referring to media within the industry in my earlier post, but your point about the hostile attitude of the mainstream media is well taken, Footdr.

We've all seen how these publications revel in publishing the horror stories - especially on problem gamblers - and ignore the positive stories which abound.

This is particularly true of online gambling, where the combination of Internet and gambling, especially if it involves a negative element sends mainstream coverage rocketing.

Two recent examples (there are many others) are the 2 500-respondents Stanford Business School study on Internet addiction article, which is still rattling around the media almost a year after it first appeared, and more recently the Second Life story where Linden Labs, the owners of Second Life Virtual World revealed that they had asked the FBI to check them out for legality - you cannot believe how much coverage that one is getting...or the different interpretations on the story.
 
Some of these comments are wishful thinking. First of all, Barney Frank's sexuality has absolutely ZERO effect on anything; not even sure why this was brought up. He is a very respected member of Congress, and has been for quite some time.

It will be infinitely harder to reverse this law, than it was to pass it -- and it took years of effort to finally sneak it through. This law is not on anyone's radar screen, and to actively vote for its removal could easily be construed as political suicide for those that do. There is little reason, as a Congressman, to vote for it's removal......it could be construed as a pro-gambling vote, which will not help at the polls.

Seriously, the only chance for any sort of repeal is if little 'ol Antigua starts mass marketing US-owned media (movies, DVD's, software, etc.). That, in concert with China's underground market, could potentially light a fire under the rear ends of those industry giants that are effected. And these are industries that do have clout on the hill. Additionally, the imposition on the banking sector will be a huge non-for-profit task, that has undoubtedly been the impetus for Barney Frank's recent message. A lot of ducks would need to line up here, but the ramifications of the US ignoring the recent WTO decision, and the ability for Antigua to go underground with selling US-owned digital media for pennies on the dollar, could result in some sort of movement that leads up to reversal, or maybe some carve-outs. If Antigua and China cannot make a dent on the overall profit margin, then everyone should forget about UIGEA reveral, and accept it as another peg in the downfall of the US under the Bush Administration.
 
I think the Antigua situation, showing as it does a US disregard for the tenets of the WTO and the authority of its disputes decisions could make things substantially more difficult if the US gets into a tussle with China as appears to be likely.
 
I think the Antigua situation, showing as it does a US disregard for the tenets of the WTO and the authority of its disputes decisions could make things substantially more difficult if the US gets into a tussle with China as appears to be likely.

The Bush administration will do whatever IT wants, and NOT what the WTO tells them to do. They will make a big stink with China, and if the WTO doesn't side with Bush, Bush will impose his own economic sanctions (apparently, there is enough noise being made by these powerful groups) to be putting the pressure on him. If/when Antigua decides to follow China's lead in regard to selling American digital media for pennies on the dollar, the US will threaten Antigua with economic sanctions, and possible military force to quell that storm.

Morale of the Story: Bush is always right, and if you don't agree with him, he will ignore mandates and do whatever he wants anyway. More fodder for my book on this ultra-corrupt administration.
 
The mass media bias.

I was recently at a filming of an after dark Poker show that airs on US Free Television.

I noticed that certain words were being actively censored by the network. Words like Gambling, one of the players (very famous, Five bracelets) had to retake a scene several times because he used words like "Gambling" and "Betting", as far as I can see, there is an ACTIVE element that is censoring the information the US public receives about gambling in general.

As far as Barney Frank being a 'respected member of Congress' goes, can you tell me the last piece of legislation he passed??? Don't waste your time, here is the info...

Barney Frank has sponsored 122 bills since Jan 6, 1999, of which 110 haven't made it out of committee (Exceedingly Poor).

Source: govtrack.us

Is there any way I can set this board so I can blacklist people? There is a bunch of crap being constantly spewed at me by one or two folks and I get tired of reading it and responding to it.
 
The mass media bias.

I was recently at a filming of an after dark Poker show that airs on US Free Television.

I noticed that certain words were being actively censored by the network. Words like Gambling, one of the players (very famous, Five bracelets) had to retake a scene several times because he used words like "Gambling" and "Betting", as far as I can see, there is an ACTIVE element that is censoring the information the US public receives about gambling in general.

As far as Barney Frank being a 'respected member of Congress' goes, can you tell me the last piece of legislation he passed??? Don't waste your time, here is the info...

Barney Frank has sponsored 122 bills since Jan 6, 1999, of which 110 haven't made it out of committee (Exceedingly Poor).

Source: govtrack.us

Is there any way I can set this board so I can blacklist people? There is a bunch of crap being constantly spewed at me by one or two folks and I get tired of reading it and responding to it.



In your User Control panel -user cp- near the bottom on the left is buddy/ignore list. It even has a little 'autocomplete' feature.
 
This looks promising. Gambling911 is reporting on an industry initiative forming to raise popular support for Frank's efforts to repeal the UIGEA.

This week a few internet gambling website owners will be meeting to discuss plans to forge a "Barney Frank Support Initiative". The process will need to be simple for the entire online gambling community to take part.

...A form letter would likely be the best way to go. We are currently exploring the best ways of having such a letter sent to Mr. Frank's office and elsewhere if necessary via the Internet (as opposed to through the mail). Those involved want to make this a simple "two minute" effort for all end users as a way of increasing the volume. Once a final option is adapted, we would then work with all our close friends in the online gambling community to have the form letter accessed from their respective websites (with the option of customizing the letter).
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Yes - I saw that, too and I think it's a great idea, as there won't be too many other opportunities to bring player pressure to bear after this.

I was heartened to see that it is shaping up into a collaborative effort among major portals, judging by the revelation that 911 and a number of other sites are planning a cohesive effort.

I'm sure once this planning stage is agreed we'll hear more about this player push, enabling everyone possible to get behind it bigtime in terms of political communication and generating wide publicity.
 
More signs now that the internet gambling community is starting to work closely with Rep. Frank's repeal effort, as
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Internet Gambling: Strategic Meeting to Take Place in DC Thursday
Gambling911.com News Wire
Originally published April 18, 2007


Gambling911.com has learned that a meeting will be held between the Financial Services Committee and lobbyists regarding a strategy for the repeal efforts involving the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act that was signed into law this past October. This meeting will take place in Washington on Thursday.

Congressman Barney Frank has been adamant about getting this legislation repealed. Likewise, A World Trade Organization decision two weeks ago determined the UIGEA to be "illegal".

The internet gambling sector is also working around the clock to build a large support network for Mr. Frank and his efforts. Industry representatives met Tuesday to discuss these efforts and come up with a decisive plan to get the ball rolling.
 

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