TheEngineer
04-27-2007, 06:03 PM
I was hesitant to start yet another thread on this, but I didn't want this to get lost in the clutter. Rep. Frank needs our support.
From today's Boston Herald:
Barney: Let it roll: Bill would end ban, license New gambling (http://business.bostonherald.com/businessNews/view.bg?articleid=197093)
By Scott Van Voorhis
Boston Herald Business Reporter
Friday, April 27, 2007
The fledgling national ban on Internet gambling is facing its first serious assault, with U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Newton) pushing plans to legalize on-line wagering.
Frank, the new chairman of the powerful House Financial Services Committee, filed a bill yesterday that would overturn the six-month-old ban and revive a multibillion-dollar industry.
The Republican-controlled Congress passed legislation Sept. 30 that curbs financial payments from banks to offshore Internet casinos that are illegal under U.S. law, effectively making it impossible for U.S. residents to pay for Internet gambling with credit cards. Frank’s measure would allow Americans to bet online with licensed Internet operators that have safeguards against underage and compulsive gambling and agree to be subject to U.S. jurisdiction and taxes.
Estimates place the number of Internet gamblers prior to the ban in Massachusetts at as many as 180,000, spending as much as $50 million a year.
“I strongly believe people should be able to do what they want with their own money as long as they are not hurting anybody,” Frank said.
The proposal, while it faces an uphill battle, has the potential to dramatically reshape the Bay State’s gambling landscape as well.
The legalization of Internet gambling would open up a range of casino games to households across Massachusetts, undercutting the state’s current ban on casino-style wagering. And that, in turn, could provide traction to gambling proposals ranging from a casino being discussed by the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe to efforts by local racetrack owners to roll out slot machines, experts said yesterday.
“It will be one more piece of wood on the fire,” said Clyde Barrow, a professor and gambling industry expert at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.
Frank’s proposal comes as the U.S. faces growing international pressure to relax its ban on Internet gambling. The World Trade Organization last month declared illegal U.S. rules barring online horse race betting.
Meanwhile, the European Parliament is debating rules that bar member countries with lotteries from also banning Internet gambling.
However, Frank conceded the measure does not have the votes to pass today. <font color="red">Instead, he argues, mounting anger among gamblers and others will eventually sway his colleagues. </font>
For his part, Frank has long been a supporter of liberalizing gambling rules, having voiced support in the past for a Wampanoag casino and slot machines at racetracks.
Still, some see a boon for Las Vegas casino companies, which would be poised to take full advantage of the new licensing system Frank is proposing, at the expense of the overseas players that are now dominant.
“Ironically, it probably plays into the hands of the big casino operators,” said the Rev. Richard McGowan, a professor and gaming expert at Boston College.
--------------------------------------------
Looks like we'd better to get to showing our anger!! /images/graemlins/grin.gif
From today's Boston Herald:
Barney: Let it roll: Bill would end ban, license New gambling (http://business.bostonherald.com/businessNews/view.bg?articleid=197093)
By Scott Van Voorhis
Boston Herald Business Reporter
Friday, April 27, 2007
The fledgling national ban on Internet gambling is facing its first serious assault, with U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Newton) pushing plans to legalize on-line wagering.
Frank, the new chairman of the powerful House Financial Services Committee, filed a bill yesterday that would overturn the six-month-old ban and revive a multibillion-dollar industry.
The Republican-controlled Congress passed legislation Sept. 30 that curbs financial payments from banks to offshore Internet casinos that are illegal under U.S. law, effectively making it impossible for U.S. residents to pay for Internet gambling with credit cards. Frank’s measure would allow Americans to bet online with licensed Internet operators that have safeguards against underage and compulsive gambling and agree to be subject to U.S. jurisdiction and taxes.
Estimates place the number of Internet gamblers prior to the ban in Massachusetts at as many as 180,000, spending as much as $50 million a year.
“I strongly believe people should be able to do what they want with their own money as long as they are not hurting anybody,” Frank said.
The proposal, while it faces an uphill battle, has the potential to dramatically reshape the Bay State’s gambling landscape as well.
The legalization of Internet gambling would open up a range of casino games to households across Massachusetts, undercutting the state’s current ban on casino-style wagering. And that, in turn, could provide traction to gambling proposals ranging from a casino being discussed by the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe to efforts by local racetrack owners to roll out slot machines, experts said yesterday.
“It will be one more piece of wood on the fire,” said Clyde Barrow, a professor and gambling industry expert at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.
Frank’s proposal comes as the U.S. faces growing international pressure to relax its ban on Internet gambling. The World Trade Organization last month declared illegal U.S. rules barring online horse race betting.
Meanwhile, the European Parliament is debating rules that bar member countries with lotteries from also banning Internet gambling.
However, Frank conceded the measure does not have the votes to pass today. <font color="red">Instead, he argues, mounting anger among gamblers and others will eventually sway his colleagues. </font>
For his part, Frank has long been a supporter of liberalizing gambling rules, having voiced support in the past for a Wampanoag casino and slot machines at racetracks.
Still, some see a boon for Las Vegas casino companies, which would be poised to take full advantage of the new licensing system Frank is proposing, at the expense of the overseas players that are now dominant.
“Ironically, it probably plays into the hands of the big casino operators,” said the Rev. Richard McGowan, a professor and gaming expert at Boston College.
--------------------------------------------
Looks like we'd better to get to showing our anger!! /images/graemlins/grin.gif