On Wednesday, Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) introduced legislation that would establish a full licensing and regulatory framework for our industry, the Internet Gambling Regulation Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act (HR 2267). The bill is similar to one that the Massachusetts Congressman and Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee introduced in 2007. This time around, the focus is on trumpeting the bill’s consumer protection measures. The industry has now had time to digest HR 2267 and a separate bill introduced by Frank that would delay implementation of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act’s (UIGEA) regulations by one year (HR 2266). Let’s take a look at the reactions from some of the industry’s major players.
You can listen to Poker Players Alliance (PPA) Executive Director John Pappas break down both HR 2266 and HR 2267 on this week’s PocketFives.com Podcast sponsored by Carbon Poker. However, the PPA’s Chairman, former three-term Republican Senator from New York Alfonse D’Amato, commented in a press release distributed by the organization this week, "Online poker is a legal, thriving industry and poker players deserve the consumer protections and the freedom to play that are provided for in this legislation. We are grateful for Chairman Frank's leadership and will be activating our grassroots army made up of over one million members to help him drive legislation." During the press conference announcing the legislation on Wednesday, Frank emphasized the importance of poker players contacting their Congressmen and telling them to support the measure.
Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative (SSIGI) spokesperson Jeff Sandman commented in a video that appears on the organization’s YouTube page, “We applaud Congressman Barney Frank and others in Congress who are seeking to create this regulated framework with the consumers safeguards we in America want.” Sandman alludes to Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA), who introduced the Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax Enforcement Act. The bill, which is numbered HR 2268, calls for a 2% tax on deposits made by customers onto licensed internet gambling sites. It is similar to a measure introduced by McDermott during the last Congressional session and serves as companion legislation to Frank’s HR 2267.
Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA) Chairman Joe Brennan lauded the introduction of the bill to delay the regulations of the UIGEA by one year to December of 2010. He told PocketFives.com, “Congressman Spencer Bachus (R-AL) and his group could use the extra time to show how wicked and awful internet gambling is. However, we would also benefit from it.” As it stands now, the financial services industry must come into full compliance with the UIGEA by December 1st after the outgoing Bush Administration approved its regulations as “midnight rules.” iMEGA is also suing to declare the UIGEA unconstitutional.
Let’s not forget Bachus, Frank’s opposition on the House Financial Services Committee. Last July, the Alabama Congressman erroneously quoted a McGill University study, stating, “One-third of college students who gambled on the internet ultimately attempted suicide.” No such study ever took place at McGill. In a statement posted on his website, Bachus reacted to Frank’s introduction of comprehensive internet gambling legislation: “Illegal off-shore internet gambling sites are a criminal enterprise and allowing them to operate unfettered in the United States would present a clear danger to our youth, who are subject to becoming addicted to gambling at an early age. If you put a computer in a teenager's bedroom, or in a student's dorm room at college, it's a temptation that many fall prey to.”
Focus on the Family analyst Chad Hills told Bloomberg, “You’re going to have all the pro-family groups, all the anti-gambling groups out there rallying together. The internet these days is being used as a public library. I don’t think any public library would be open to hosting a poker tournament inside.” Bloomberg also revealed that Harrah’s and Youbet.com have fully supported the bill. Harrah’s, which hosts the annual World Series of Poker, spent over $400,000 in lobbying efforts during the first quarter of 2009. Over the same time period, the PPA spent $430,000.A total of 15 Congressmen are co-sponsors of HR 2267. They include Peter King (R-NY), Shelley Berkley (D-NV), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Ron Paul (R-TX), and Robert Wexler (D-FL). HR 2266 does not currently boast any co-sponsors.
Stay tuned to PocketFives.com for the latest news from Capitol Hill.
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