Barney
Frank (D-Mass), Chairman of the
House Committee on Financial
Services, is launching a new round
of efforts to repeal the 2006
Unlawful Internet Gambling
Enforcement Act (UIGEA) enacted
during the Bush administration,
reports the Financial Times today.
In the next few weeks, Frank will
reintroduce a bill to establish a
licensing and regulatory framework
for online gambling operators, which
includes operators of online poker
sites.
Frank noted that the prospects for
this bill were greater than before
because the public is now more vocal
about demanding the right to gamble
online. (His prior bill never made
it out of committee discussions for
a vote last session of Congress.) In
addition, he noted that a
Democrat-led Congress and a more
liberal political climate
contributed to his decision to
resume his efforts.
Perhaps the potential for a
significant new source of taxes
during the economic crisis will not
be lost on federal and state
legislators too.
Frank also said that he expected
Congress to rescind the
anti-gambling regulations associated
with UIGEA, which were pushed
through in the last weeks of the
Bush administration. Outgoing
administrations frequently finalize
controversial regulations just
before leaving office, in a practice
known as a 'midnight drop'.
Those regulations (making it illegal
for financial institutions to
process online gambling transactions
between foreign companies and US
residents) were finalized on January
19, but need not be implemented
until December 2009.
Soon after the UIGEA was passed as a
last minute addition to the Safe
Port Bill, the Department of Justice
began to arrest executives from some
of the foreign gaming companies at
airports and charge them in court.
Mr Frank remarked, "I expect an
Obama DoJ to be less zealous about
locking people up. These outrageous
arrests in transit -- they should be
stopping that stuff."
ANOTHER EFFORT TO STOP UIGEA MOVES
FORWARD
The lawsuit initially filed June
2007 to challenge the
constitutionality of the UIGEA
presses forward by the Interactive
Media Entertainment and Gaming
Association (iMEGA). iMEGA's appeal
and the government's response have
both been filed. Recently the United
States Third Circuit Court of
Appeals, which will consider the
appeal, asked both sides for dates
in April on which they would be
available for the oral argument.
Original Article:
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