Online Gambling Hearings Delayed Until September
Legislation hearings that were introduced by the leader in the regulation and legalization of Internet poker, U.S. Representative Barney Frank, that look to overturn the provisions of the very unpopular Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) have been delayed until September of this year. This according to the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), which is one of groups that has supported Frank in helping create the measures that Frank has introduced to Congress.
The most important legislation sponsored that is affected by the delay in major way is Frank’s bill the Internet Gambling Regulation Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act. This Act wants to come up with a regulatory framework in the federal level of the United States for online gambling operators. To date this bill has been signed onto by 35 co-sponsors in Congress. Frank also introduced a 2nd bill, which is the Reasonable Prudence in Regulation Act looks to put off the implementation of the provisions of the UIGEA that were enacted on January 9th of this year and now these may be moot because of the recent delay in the hearings. A 3rd bill related to online gambling that was written by U.S. Representative James McDermott, which is the Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax Enforcement Act, is a companion bill to Frank’s Internet Gambling Regulation Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act and hearings on that will also be delayed until September.
There have been no details given why the hearings were delayed. The hearings were originally supposed to take place around July 9th or be held when the Poker Player’s Alliance were supposed to be in Washington D.C. as part of their “National Poker Week.” The ongoing economic crisis in the United States, and around the world, has been the main focus of the House Financial Services Committee. Representative Frank is the chairman of this committee and it will be this committee where the bills concerning online gambling will be heard.
There have been many bills introduced to try to repeal the ban on online poker and to regulate the online gambling industry, most of which were introduced by Frank, but not one has been passed. With the new Obama administration many online poker players and the PPA are hopeful that the ban will be repealed soon.
