Internet Gambling Bill Defeated

On Wednesday, June 25th, the House Financial Services Committee defeated HR 5767, a bill proposed by Congressmen Barney Frank and Ron Paul that would have paved the way for legalized and regulated online poker in the United States.

An amendment to HR 5767 was offered by Republican Congressman Peter King. The measure seemed to address the shortcomings of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. The amendment would have required that the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve work with the U.S. Justice Department to decide what the UIGEA interprets as legal and illegal. Questions such as, "Is online betting on horse racing legal?" and "Is online poker legal?" would finally be answered. The amendment was defeated with a tie vote of 32-32.

This is a setback for the online gaming industry but the fight will continue. After the defeat of the bill Frank said," What I'm hoping that is that people understand that they have to mobilize. I know that a lot of people watch poker on television. Maybe they need to watch poker and a little bit of C-SPAN. If you look at the vote (32-32), it was better than it was before [when we passed the UIGEA]. I think that there will be reaction. I'll wait and see what happens.