Frank's Bill Cleared in Committee

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The House Financial Services Committee passed Barney Frank's bill HR 2267 on July 28, 2010 for establishing a federal regulatory and enforcement framework under which Internet gambling operators could function. The press release said, "Today, the House Financial Services Committee passed legislation to enable Americans to bet online and put an end to an inappropriate interference with their personal freedom. … The legislation comes in response to the enactment of Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), which restricted the use of the payments system for Americans who gamble online."

Though this is only a first small step in the legalization of online gambling, it is a very significant one. The judiciary has all but ruled that the UIGEA is a valid act and will apply wherever online gambling is illegal. Apparently the industry is not to keen to pursue the matter further in that direction. Hence they had no recourse but to take up the matter with the legislature and make online gambling legal. A positive response in the first step is bound to be encouraging.

Apart from the final result there are several other positives to be taken up from yesterday's mark up hearing. The margin of victory was significant. There were 41 yeas and 22 nays. Though these numbers reflect the strength of the Democrats and Republicans respectively in the committee, the voting was bipartisan and not on party lines. This journey to enact favorable laws will be a long one and it seems that changes in Capitol Hill would not affect the sentiment.

Barney Frank had introduced his bill in May 2009. The delay of over a year had irked many in the online gambling industry. But now it seems that the reason given for the delay, that the matters concerning the shattered economy were more pressing, had merit. No sooner was the Finance Bill passed the movement on HR 2267 was swift and decisive. One can now expect the other pro online gambling bills in various House and Senate committees to be acted on with due speed.

18 amendments were moved and 14 of these were agreed to by the House Financial Services Committee. These amendments strengthen those aspects of the bill that have been more vulnerable to attack from its opponents. They allow for exclusion of those segments that do not want to be part of a regulated online gambling regime. This includes sports betting, Indian tribes and intrastate lotteries. The amendments strengthen the provisions to prevent minors from gambling online; to prevent inappropriate online advertising targeted toward underage or compulsive gamblers; to require that players set financial loss limits; to ban violators of federal and state gambling laws from obtaining a license; and to require a substantial U.S. presence as a condition of obtaining a license.

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