It's not going to change anything overnight. But Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, has the ball rolling on the long road to repealing the Unlawful Internet
It's not going to change anything overnight.
But Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, has the ball rolling on the long road to repealing the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.
Frank held a press conference last Thursday to announce the introduction of a bill - the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act of 2007 (IGREA) - aiming to end the prohibition of online gambling in the United States.
"The existing legislation," Frank said in a statement released to the media, "is an inappropriate interference on the personal freedom of Americans, and this interference should be undone.
"I strongly believe people should be able to do what they want with their own money," Frank added, "as long as they are not hurting anybody."
The UIGEA, passed in October, essentially makes it illegal for Americans to gamble online, preventing credit card companies and banks from processing transactions between American customers and offshore gaming companies.
The IGREA, however, intends to establish a federal regulatory and enforcement framework for online gambling companies, allowing Americans to gamble online legally through operators licensed by the U.S. Treasury.
The general outline: operators would face criminal background checks, be subject to reviews of their financial condition, and forced to have strict provisions in place to protect against underage and compulsive gambling, money laundering and fraud.
The government would also have the authority to terminate the license of any business that fails to comply with its regulations.
Frank said he expects the process to be a long one, with time needed to gain support for the new bill, but former U.S. Senator and current Poker Players Alliance Chairman, Alfonse D'Amato, says Frank is on the right track.
"Congressman Frank's bill is a common sense approach to Internet gambling," he said in a release. "The time is now to license and regulate operators and allow U.S. poker sites to compete with offshore ones."
But Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, has the ball rolling on the long road to repealing the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.
Frank held a press conference last Thursday to announce the introduction of a bill - the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act of 2007 (IGREA) - aiming to end the prohibition of online gambling in the United States.
"The existing legislation," Frank said in a statement released to the media, "is an inappropriate interference on the personal freedom of Americans, and this interference should be undone.
"I strongly believe people should be able to do what they want with their own money," Frank added, "as long as they are not hurting anybody."
The UIGEA, passed in October, essentially makes it illegal for Americans to gamble online, preventing credit card companies and banks from processing transactions between American customers and offshore gaming companies.
The IGREA, however, intends to establish a federal regulatory and enforcement framework for online gambling companies, allowing Americans to gamble online legally through operators licensed by the U.S. Treasury.
The general outline: operators would face criminal background checks, be subject to reviews of their financial condition, and forced to have strict provisions in place to protect against underage and compulsive gambling, money laundering and fraud.
The government would also have the authority to terminate the license of any business that fails to comply with its regulations.
Frank said he expects the process to be a long one, with time needed to gain support for the new bill, but former U.S. Senator and current Poker Players Alliance Chairman, Alfonse D'Amato, says Frank is on the right track.
"Congressman Frank's bill is a common sense approach to Internet gambling," he said in a release. "The time is now to license and regulate operators and allow U.S. poker sites to compete with offshore ones."
