March 17, 2006

Gambling Crackdown

It’s not making major headlines, but the House of Representatives is moving to scale back gambling on the Internet. This has been in the works for a long time, but it’s finally seeing some strong movement. The problem is that Senate and House leaders have so many other priorities that this one typically falls by the wayside. But conservative lobbying groups on the Hill, especially Christian lobbying groups, are making an all out push to get something done. Check out the article below.

House Panel Approves Bill to Restrain Online Gambling
By Congress Daily PM

The House Financial Services Committee approved measures today to crack down on online gambling and revamp the federal flood insurance program.

By voice vote, the panel approved legislation sponsored by Rep. Jim Leach, R-Iowa, that would bar banks and credit card companies from processing payments for online bets. It also would make it a criminal offense for a gambling business to accept credit cards, wire transfers or any other bank instrument to process payments for illegal gaming transactions.

Leach said his bill was needed to curb the explosion of the $12 billion online gambling industry, which makes an estimated half of its profits from Americans betting with offshore gambling firms.

"The FBI and Justice Department experts have warned that Internet gambling sites have offered accounts with money laundering, drug trafficking and human terrorist financing," Leach said.

His bill would not apply to state lotteries, tribal gaming and horse racing, and is supported by religious groups and major sports leagues.

Leach is counting on the political fallout of the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal to help his bill this year. Abramoff was instrumental in helping defeat an Internet gambling ban on the House floor in 2000, an action that federal prosecutors are investigating as part of the influence peddling investigation.

Financial Services ranking member Barney Frank, D-Mass., protested the bill on libertarian grounds.

"The fact that people bet more than they should does not seem to me to be a subject of a legislative prohibition any more than the fact that people eat more than they should," Frank said.

No other member spoke in opposition to the bill.

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