New Online Gambling Bill Introduced

A new bill was introduced this week in Congress, calling for the federal regulation and taxation of Internet gambling. The author of the bill, Rep. Jim McDermott, claims that a tax on online gambling could net the government anywhere between $8 and $43 billion over a 10-year period.

However, Frank Fahrenkopf, president of the American Gaming Association, believes that those numbers may be unrealistic. In his opinion, many states are unlikely to legalize Internet gambling even if the federal ban is lifted.

“I still think the odds are very long that a bill (to repeal the Internet gambling ban) will pass in this Congress,” said Fahrenkopf.

A FISTFUL OF BILLS

The bill offered by McDermott had no sponsors. While that doesn’t bode well for the future of the proposal, a number of other Internet gambling bills are floating about, hoping to reduce the effect of the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.

Last April, Rep. Barney Frank introduced a bill which would rely on the Treasury Department to regulate the gaming industry. Most consider this to be the lead bill in the pro-Internet gambling fight, and 46 members of the House have signed on as co-sponsors.

The bill with the most sponsors, however, is one put forth by Rep. Shelley Berkley of Nevada. That bill calls for a one-year study of online gambling. It currently has 68 co-sponsors.

The third bill currently in circulation was issued by Rep. Robert Wexler. In it, he calls for poker and other “games of skill” to be exempted from the ban. At the moment, his bill has 21 co-sponsors.

Unfortunately, nothing has happened with these bills for a while. The wheels turn, but they often turn slowly. We’ll bring you more info as it becomes available.

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