Today Representative Barney Frank, Democrat of Massachusetts, announced that next week he plas to introduce legislation aimed at overturning the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.
Speaking at the Reuters Global Financial Regulation Summit in Washington DC, Mr. Frank said the bill was being drafted this week and that his committee has been busy with other measures addressing reform of financial regulation in the wake of the credit crisis. Regarding the new Internet Gaming legislation Mr. Frank said:
"We'll be introducing it next week and I plan to move on it"
Mr. Frank tried and failed to do so once before, in 2007. But advocates of liberalization think they might get a friendlier hearing in Washington this time around. President Barack Obama, they note, boasted of his poker prowess during the election campaign. And the Democrats, who are seen as less hostile to Internet gambling than the Republicans, have tightened their grip on Congress.
The UIGEA was passed in late 2006 and requires US financial institutions to block payments from US citizens to internet gambling companies. It came into effect on 19 January this year, but banks and other financial institutions have until 1 December to comply.
European online gambling firms lost billions of Euros in value after the bill made it illegal for banks and credit card companies to make payments to online gambling sites.
A study by PricewaterhouseCoopers says the U.S. government could raise more than $50 billion over 10 years from taxes on legalized online gambling.
"I'd be amazed if it didn't happen over the next two or three years," said Clive Hawkswood, chief executive of the Remote Gambling Association, a trade group based in London. "It's just a question of what exactly the regulations will say."
Since the 2006 law was passed, North America, once the biggest market, has been passed by Europe and Asia, according to figures from H2 Gambling Capital. The law makes it illegal for financial institutions to handle payments to online gambling sites. But enough people have found ways around it, some by using overseas payment processors, to ensure that online gambling remains a thriving business. H2 says online gambling generated revenue of $6 billion last year in North America, more than a quarter the global total of $22.6 billion, up from $17.6 billion in 2006.
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