 Online casino
debate continues in the United States
A big gamble in the
online casinos debate is whether to reduce opposition to the
online casinos ban by sliding around the exemptions issue. Will
the online casinos ban in the United States succeed? What is the
future of online casinos? Online casinos industry experts are
mixed in their view points and judgments, but one thing is for
certain – there is much new news about the online casinos
industry.
While there are doubts that U.S. legislators will have enough
time and support in the current Congressional season to get the
latest attempt to prohibit online casinos approved, a top online
casinos news site made some cautionary points on the issue this
week.
In an article which took an objective look at the previously
abortive US banning attempts (there have been six of these in
the past decade) the online casinos site reports that prospects
appear bleak that the Senate will pass a prohibition bill when
it returns after Labor Day for the final weeks of the 109th
session of Congress.
Frank Fahrenkopf, president of the American Gaming Association
which has expressed support for a Congressional study of online
casinos, seems to agree when he is quoted as saying: "When the
Senate comes back, there is going to be an awful lot on their
plate, and I'm just not sure what kind of priority is going to
be given to this gaming legislation."
The article goes on to quote an anonymous source who says that
despite the busy session Sen. Jon Kyl is to launch a further
attempt at an online casinos ban, trying to remove language from
the House bill that would amend the 1961 Wire Act so that it
would outlaw using the Internet to place bets across state
lines.
By doing this, Kyl hopes to avoid contentious debate on
carve-outs for industries like horse racing and address concerns
of the horse racing industry, thus removing holds on the bill in
the Senate. If Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist calls for a
vote on Kyl's streamlined version within the first two weeks
after Labor Day, advocates of the ban are confident the House
would quickly follow with its approval.
Then the modified online casinos bill, which would ban the use
of credit cards and other bank instruments for online casinos
payments, could be sent to the president's desk.
Kyl has apparently declined to comment on these reports and an
e-mail to his office was not returned.
Frist spokeswoman Carolyn Weyforth said Frist would like the
Senate to vote in September on the online casinosbill approved
by the House. "Given the overwhelming House vote, we expect
Senator (Harry) Reid to cooperate in this effort to prevent
underage and illegal gambling," Weyforth said.
Reid, the Democratic leader and a former chairman of the Nevada
Gaming Commission, has said he opposes Internet gambling because
he does not think it can be effectively regulated. But it's not
clear if he would support the House bill.
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