Barney Frank to Reintroduce Internet Gambling Legislation

harry_lime

This is another potentially important step towards the taxation of the gambling industry which i think is central to getting US players the freedom to play where they want online - harry

Barney Frank to Reintroduce Internet Gambling Legislation
By Dan Cypra for POKER NEWS DAILY | Posted on February 04, 2009

In an interview with the Financial Times this week, it was revealed that Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) will reintroduce legislation favorable to internet gambling “in the next few weeks.” During the previous Congress, Frank introduced HR 2046, the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act, which established a full licensing and regulatory framework for the industry in the United States.

Steven Adamske, Press Secretary for Congressman Frank, confirmed to Poker News Daily the timeline of a few weeks, although would not unearth specifics of the bill. The lawmaker from Massachusetts and Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee told the Financial Times, “I expect an Obama DoJ to be less zealous about locking people up. These outrageous arrests in transit – they should be stopping that stuff.” Frank alludes to the arrests of BetOnSports executive David Carruthers and others that occurred following the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in late 2006.

The Financial Times added that “public opinion was demanding the right to gamble online,” which served as the impetus behind Frank’s decision to reintroduce legislation. The proposed bill may take on a similar form to HR 2046, which offered licensing opportunities for companies to solicit U.S. customers. It was officially introduced on April 26, 2007 and referred to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection. Frank’s bill stood at 48 Co-Sponsors at the end of the 2008 calendar year, including Shelley Berkley (D-NV), Peter King (R-NY), Jim McDermott (D-WA), Ron Paul (R-TX), and Robert Wexler (D-FL). Since it was not acted on during the 2008 Congressional session, it must now be reintroduced for consideration.

On Wednesday morning, the House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law held a hearing on a remedy for so-called “midnight rules,” which is the term given to regulations created at the last minute by outgoing Presidential administrations. Among the various rules created in the waning moments of the Bush Administration were the regulations of the UIGEA. Frank told the Financial Times that the UIGEA regulations may be “included among the measures Congress will look to rescind.” The new Congress is overwhelmingly Democratic.

HR 2046 included a provision that would have allowed professional sports leagues to opt out. League commissioners had 90 days from the date of enactment of HR 2046 in order to express their desire to be exempt. A study by PricewaterHouse Coopers estimated that up to $40 billion could be generated from the internet gambling industry over a 10 year period. However, the figure’s actual total hinged on whether all sports leagues would opt out as well as whether states would embrace internet gambling. Fantasy sports have an explicit exemption from the UIGEA.

The UIGEA regulations were officially enacted on January 19th, 2009, one day prior to the swearing in of President Barack Obama. The financial services industry must come into full compliance by December 1st, 2009, about one year after the regulations were approved by the U.S. Treasury and White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB). At issue in November was the role of William Wichterman, a Special Assistant to former President George W. Bush. Wichterman was a lobbyist for the National Football League (NFL) as late as 2008. Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN) authored a letter to the White House Counsel questioning his influence in pushing the UIGEA regulations through to fruition.

Other bills that may see similar versions reintroduced during the 2009 Congress include the Skill Game Protection Act, which was proposed by Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL). The bill would have exempted poker, mah jong, bridge, and other player versus player games from all federal legislation, including both the UIGEA and Wire Act of 1961. Shelley Berkley introduced the Internet Gambling Study Act, which attracted 73 Co-Sponsors. The legislation called for the examination of regulation of the industry as well as the effects of the UIGEA.

The passage of the UIGEA caused mammoth online poker rooms such as Party Gaming’s PartyPoker, Pacific Poker, and Mansion to vacate the U.S. market. A variety of payment processors also departed, including Neteller and Citadel Commerce, with many players having money tied up in the former. All told, despite its vagueness, the UIGEA’s effects have been long-lasting in the United States. The effect that its regulations will have on the industry remains unknown.
_________________

Alternate Poker4ever League Winner Award

"I guess nobody really knew Harry like he did ...like I did !"

....harry "the negotiator" lime

Know-nuffin · Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 7:34 pm Post subject:

There is a lot to take in and I don't understand all of it, but it seems as if the wheels are turning in the right direction.

Good news.
_________________

Know-nuffin.... "nurse, he's out of bed again"

harry_lime · Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2009 9:44 am Post subject:

More positive news backing up the original post which may make things clearer as to what is trying to be achieved here. Very basically, this is what needs to be done :
1, define exactly what the UIGEA means or look to abolish it completely.
2, confirm the notion in Senate that poker is primarily a game of skill.
3, set up regulations for licensing and taxation of poker rooms in the US (which is really what this has all been about from the start).

.......................................................................................................................................

Barney Frank to Introduce Internet Gambling Legislation in March
By Dan Cypra for POKER NEWS DAILY | Posted on February 21, 2009

Now that a $700 billion bailout has successfully passed the United States Senate and House of Representatives, lawmakers’ attention may now turn to internet gambling, according to an article released by Reuters on Friday. It was revealed that Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA), Chairman of the powerful House Financial Services Committee, will introduce legislation in March addressing the ambiguities of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). The Reuters article did not mention what Frank’s bill would specifically include.

The UIGEA was unceremoniously passed into law attached to the unrelated SAFE Port Act at the end of the 2006 Congressional session on the urging of former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN), who is no longer on Capitol Hill. The SAFE Port Act was passed 421-2 in the House and approved by unanimous consent in the Senate. Its regulations were passed in a similar fashion as a midnight rule by the outgoing Bush Administration. They went into effect on January 19th, 2009, one day prior to Barack Obama assuming the Presidency.

A spokesperson for Frank told Reuters that the Congressman will be introducing “legislation to repeal the UIGEA” next month. Many in the industry have been speculating as to what form the new internet gambling legislation would take. During the previous Congressional session, Frank introduced HR 2046, the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act. The bill, which was introduced on April 30th, 2007, called for a complete licensing and regulatory framework for internet gambling in the United States. It garnered 48 co-sponsors, but did not see time on the House floor.

At the close of 2008, HR 6870, which was introduced by Frank and co-sponsored by Congressman Peter King (R-NY), was approved by the House Financial Services Committee by a 30-19 vote. However, the September vote was followed immediately by the collapse on Wall Street, which diverted attention away from internet gambling. HR 6870 would have clarified what is legal and illegal under the UIGEA, a question many banks will now face when compliance is due in December.

The enactment of the UIGEA also prompted an investigation by the European Commission into potential violations of World Trade Organization (WTO) obligations by the United States as a result of its stance towards internet gambling. A separate Reuters article revealed that the Commission is likely to recommend that the WTO act next month. However, the report added, “Sources said the E.U. executive, which oversees trade policy for the 27-nation bloc, would try to find a solution with the new U.S. government before taking any case to the global trade watchdog.”

In September, trade officials from the European Union traveled to the United States on a fact-finding mission in order to determine whether WTO obligations were being trampled on. The complaint to the Commission was brought by the Remote Gambling Association (RGA). The organization’s membership includes 888 and Party Gaming, which are both publicly-traded companies on the London Stock Exchange (under the symbols “888″ and “PRTY,” respectively). Upon the passage of the UIGEA, their online poker sites were forced to abandon the U.S. market out of deference to shareholders. Meanwhile, the co-founder of Party Gaming, Anurag Dikshit, admitted to violating the Wire Act of 1961 in a New York court room in December, paying the U.S. Government $300 million and potentially facing jail time.

Other RGA member companies include Ladbrokes, Bet 365, Littlewoods, PKR, Unibet, Victor Chandler, Cryptologic, and William Hill. The organization is chaired by Clive Hawkswood and based in London.

The industry will now wait and see what the text of Frank’s bill will include. Although in the September mark-up hearing of HR 6870 Frank declared that he seeks to repeal the UIGEA entirely, many have speculated that a poker-only bill may take shape during this Congressional session. In 2007, Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL) introduced HR 2610, the Skill Game Protection Act, which exempted poker, mah jong, bridge, and other player versus player games from all existing federal legislation, including the Wire Act of 1961 and the UIGEA.
_________________

"I guess nobody really knew Harry like he did ...like I did !"

....harry "the negotiator" lime

harry_lime · Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2009 7:40 am Post subject:

Barney Frank’s Internet Gambling Bill Reaches 50 Co-Sponsors
(Washington, D.C. - July 28, 2009)

We are pleased to report that there are now 50 members of Congress signed on as co-sponsors of the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act (H.R. 2267), legislation introduced by Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services

"Reaching this milestone illustrates that momentum is growing for a shift in U.S. policy and a rewrite of U.S. Internet gambling laws," said Jeffrey Sandman, spokesperson for the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative. "The list of supporters will continue to grow as more representatives are educated on the subject and increasingly hear from their constituents that Internet gambling regulation presents the only viable way to protect consumers, since attempts to prohibit the activity have completely failed. We also expect an increased spotlight on Internet gambling as a way to augment federal revenues and help cover the cost of necessary policy initiatives."

Among the bipartisan group of 50 co-sponsors are many senior ranking representatives, including George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor, John Conyers (D-MI), chairman of the Committee of the Judiciary, Charles Rangel (D-NY), chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, Edolphus Towns (D-NY), chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Pete King (R-NY), ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee and Ron Paul (R-TX), vice-chairman of the Oversight and Investigations subcommittee.

Rep. Frank's bill would establish a framework to permit licensed gambling operators to accept wagers from individuals in the U.S. and mandates a number of significant consumer protections, including safeguards against compulsive and underage gambling, money laundering, fraud and identify theft. Additional provisions in the legislation reinforce the rights of each state to determine whether to allow Internet gambling activity for people accessing the Internet within the state and to apply other restrictions on the activity as determined necessary. The legislation also would allow states and Native American tribes with experience in regulating gambling to play a role in the regulatory process.

An analysis shows that collecting taxes on regulated Internet gambling would allow the U.S. to capture much-needed revenue in an amount ranging from $48.6 billion (excluding online sports gambling) to $62.7 billion (including online sports gambling) over the next decade.

- Article taken from gambling911.com
_________________

"I guess nobody really knew Harry like he did ...like I did !"

....harry "the negotiator" lime

Miklosik · Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2009 1:43 pm Post subject:

One would think, given the healthcare discussion and how to pay for it debate currently in the news 24/7, that this would be a virtual 'no brainer' for passage.
_________________

Newest and oldest member of the Mura-harem.

	ALTERNATE POKER FORUM Forum Index -> Online Poker Rooms -> Online Poker Ban - US & Other	All times are GMT
Page 1 of 1	View posts since last visit

APF CHAT ROOM