Washington Post discusses online gambling push

[The Buzz]

The Washington Post ran an extensive article on Sunday about the legalization of online gambling in the United States. Things are expected to heat up in the coming months as Rep. Barney Frank and the Poker Players Alliance aim to push legislation that would legalize and regulate poker and other online betting games.

The link to the story is below:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...020602190.html

[nitro]

"The Justice Department views all online gambling as illegal under a 1961 law aimed at mob bookies using telephone lines, but it has prosecuted only a handful of Internet betting operations..."

Why the drive to "legalize" it ? The aim should rather be how to uphold the schizophrenic attitude towards online gambling...

[Anthony]

The legalization push has alarmed the National Football League, Focus on the Family and other Internet gambling opponents, who say that online betting would encourage criminal activity, threaten children and dramatically increase gambling addiction. Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) has placed a hold on six Treasury Department nominees to retaliate for the delay in the anti-gambling law, legislative aides said.

Kyl is acting like a child.

[TheGooner]

I think it was a good article.

It outlines the hypocracy of the exisiting gambling organisations (and sports organisations) and the potential tax revenue benefit ... although where the 2% deposit tax idea came from I don't know.

However, what it also shows is the unbending "moral authority" attitude that the opponents to this have - the feeling that they know better than the general public and have to protect them.

That's the hardest resistance to break, because there is no simple way to convince them, they will NOT be convinced no matter what is shown to them ... and they will simply have to be outvoted and ignored.

[slotplayer]

Well this may be the last year to get it resolved one way or another as it is possible the GOP will gain control of Congress in the 2010 elections.

[dhayman]

This is all well and good, but absolutely nothing will happen before the mid-term elections (November in US). The issue of reversing the UIGEA is too much of a political hot potato, and Democrats (presumably the ones in favor of reversing it), are probably looking at losing some Congressional seats this November. This will make it infinitely harder to pass any reversing legislation, as we move forward. However, the ever-rising budget deficits and national debt, may be enough of an impetus to sway some Republicans to vote for its eradication, given its potential to be a huge revenue source.

[cameronlove4]

Thanks Buddy for this informative post. For more help I'm quoting the most important parts of the article:

Poker lobbyists are ramping up an aggressive push backed by millions of dollars to legalize Internet gambling in the United States this year, hoping to overcome passionate objections from social conservatives, sports leagues and other longtime opponents.

Partly bankrolled by offshore gambling companies, the campaign has already persuaded the Obama administration to delay enforcement of a 2006 law cracking down on Internet wagers.

Rep. Barney Frank (Mass.) and other Democrats are using the six-month reprieve to push ahead with legislation that would legalize and regulate poker, mah-jongg and other online betting games -- pastimes that have exploded in popularity in a country that accounts for more than half of the $16 billion global Internet gambling market. The federal government, which rarely prosecutes online gambling, would net billions of dollars in tax and licensing revenue if it were legalized, proponents say.

The legalization push has alarmed the National Football League, Focus on the Family and other Internet gambling opponents, who say that online betting would encourage criminal activity, threaten children and dramatically increase gambling addiction. Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) has placed a hold on six Treasury Department nominees to retaliate for the delay in the anti-gambling law, legislative aides said.

But those in favor are hoping with Congress in the hands of Democrats, who have historically been less opposed to gambling than Republicans, along with the growing popularity of recreational poker, that will work to their advantage. The list of backers includes Frank, a New England liberal who says the government should not bother gamblers, and former Republican senator Alfonse M. D'Amato (N.Y.), chairman of the Poker Players Alliance, which is leading the Capitol Hill push. With 1.2 million members, the alliance is funded largely by the Interactive Gaming Council, a Canada-based trade group for offshore gambling firms. Together, the groups have spent more than $4 million on Washington lobbying over the past year, and the alliance says its members have recently sent more than 300,000 mailings and e-mails to members of Congress.

Key to the legalization effort is Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. He has become one of the top congressional recipients of gambling interests' money, collecting nearly $100,000 from the gambling and casino sector since 2007, according to contribution data. Frank has become an unlikely hero to the politically conservative poker community. Last summer, Frank issued the ceremonial "shuffle up and deal" command at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, then took in more than $50,000 at a fundraiser hosted by the poker alliance.

A companion bill sponsored by Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) would levy a 2 percent tax on gambling deposits, which supporters say could bring in $42 billion in tax revenue over 10 years. Similar Senate legislation would legalize betting on online poker and other "games of skill." Opponents remain unconvinced, saying that safeguards will not stop abuses. Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.), the ranking member on Frank's committee, vowed in a statement to oppose the efforts, saying, "Internet gambling is a threat to the youth of our country. . . . Young people are particularly at risk because if you put a computer in their bedroom or dorm room, it's a temptation that many cannot resist."