Bill to overturn UIGEA being amended, says Gambling911

[The Buzz]

HR 5767, introduced by Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) in an attempt to stop the US government from enforcing the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, is being amended, says Gambling911, who sources the River City Group.

No word on what the amendments are and how the changes would impact the chances of the bill's passage or its impact.

Full story here ... http://www.gambling911.com/Internet-...ed-062008.html

[paulbe]

Furthermore, Bankers cheer Frank-Paul approach to Web gambling:

Full story: http://thehill.com/business--lobby/b...008-04-14.html

“The challenge we have is interpreting … federal laws that Congress itself isn’t sure what they mean”

That does not sound like Congress.... they are usually crystal clear............ :P

[vinism]

Here's what's happening folks: H.R. 5767 (which prevent UIGEA regulations from being implemented) is going into markup Tuesday in the House Financial Services Committee which is chaired by Rep. Barney Frank -- a definitively pro online gambling legislator. A markup session is part of the legislative process in the Congress, and in many state legislatures in the U.S. What it does is it gives everyone in the committee a chance to debate a bill, debate and offer amendments, and ultimately report the bill to the full House. And that's the key here. Most bills are not brought into markup unless the chair believes/knows that Committee will vote favorably on it. In addition, any amendments that are agreed to in Committee do not change the text. These are simply amendments that they're suggesting the full House should adopt. In essence, this is the next step in the legislative process for this bill. And it's a very good step because Frank clearly thinks he has the votes to win (at least in Committee).

[The Buzz]

The House vote on the bill that would block the US from implementing regulations mandated by the UIGEA was delayed a day, but is scheduled for a vote today.

The Birmingham News has a story that gives the viewpoint of Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.), who was previously the chairman of the Financial Services Committee before the Democrats took control of the House in 2006.

They are like any other industry, they're going to argue for no obligations or responsibilities, but if you compare the complexity of these to the bank secrecy or money laundering statutes, this is first grade. It's very simple, very doable," Bachus said.

He also took his argument to the pages of the American Banker newspaper in an opinion piece on Tuesday.

A 2007 study by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania found a decrease in online gambling last year by American youth.

"The strong drop in use of Internet sites also suggests that federal legislation restricting the transfer of funds to Internet gambling sites has had its intended effect," said Dan Romer, director of the survey when it was released in October. "Whether this will last remains to be seen."

Full story here ... http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnew...440.xml&coll=2

[vinism]

The hearing starts at 11 a.m. ET. We'll post what happened after it's done.

[vinism]

Here's what has happened so far:

An amendment to H.R. 5767, which would prevent UIGEA regulations from being implemented, was proposed this morning. Essentially, this amendment would serve as a substitute for the original bill. The amendment, like the original bill, proposes that the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve be prohibited from developing and implementing regulations to enforce the UIGEA. The amendment also adds language requiring the Treasury Department, Federal Reserve and Department of Justice to sit down together and determine what exactly constitutes unlawful Internet gambling.

There was some vigorous (and entertaining -- thank you Chairman Frank) debate over the amendment, before the the House Financial Services Committee voted to support it. The committee will vote at 4 p.m. on whether to report the bill to the full House of Representatives.

[vinism]

Entertaining side note: During the debate, Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.) told some of the people in the gallery who were there to show support for online gambling that they were "representing criminal enterprises" (though he did make an effort to say the people in the galleries were not criminals themselves). He also the Internet puts casinos right in bedrooms of teenagers and college students. Rep. Barney Frank did not let either statement go without comment. Before yielding to another speaker, Frank thanked Bachus for recognizing that the members seated in the audience were not criminals, and noted they probably didn't appreciate the implication that they were. After the amendment was voted on and approved for consideration, Frank told the audience "You are free to go home and put casinos in your children's bedrooms if you choose to."

Vintage Frank.

[paulbe]

HahahhahahaWell done Frank!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for the update!

[vinism]

Well, the bill to halt the UIGEA regulations lost in its full committee vote. Here's the story I wrote for the newsletter:

Online gambling bill defeated

25 June 2008
By Vin Narayanan

The House Financial Services Committee rejected a bill Wednesday that would have prohibited the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve from proposing and implementing regulations to enforce the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.

In its mark-up session, the Committee adopted an amendment proposed by Rep. Peter King (R-NY) that would not only stop the implementation of any UIGEA regulations, but would also force the Treasury Department, the Justice Department and the Federal Reserve to sit down and define unlawful Internet gambling. King said that this "was a banking issue, not a gambling issue" and that the banking industry shouldn't be in the position of determining what is legal and illegal.

The King amendment was defeated by the full committee with a vote of 32 for and 32 against. The original bill proposed by Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.) was defeated in a voice vote.

The defeat is a blow to both the online gambling industry, which has been looking for ways to repeal the UIGEA, and the banking industry, which wants no part in trying to regulate the online gaming industry.

"The PPA is surprised that the Financial Services Committee today failed to clarify what constitutes 'unlawful Internet gambling' under the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA)," said Alfonse D'Amato, chairman of the Poker Players Alliance. "The King Amendment would have required a separate formal rulemaking with an administrative law judge to determine the definition of unlawful Internet gambling."

"The Federal Reserve, Department of Treasury and the banking industry have all testified before Congress that the lack of a definition of 'unlawful Internet gambling' makes it extremely difficult if not impossible to enforce this law and would result in a broader review and denial of financial transactions because they could possibly be deemed unlawful under UIGEA," D'Amato added.

[The Buzz]

Here's the AP's take on it ... http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g...ZgCgAD91HD1IG1