By
P5s Staff |
Published
Nov 25 2009, 12:01 PM
|
A hearing slated for next Thursday, December 3rd will not feature a markup of either HR 2266 or HR 2267, PocketFives.com has learned. Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) introduced both measures in May. Each seeks to alter the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), whose regulations officially must be followed by the financial services industry in the United States by December 1st. As the Tuesday deadline approaches, PocketFives.com sought comment from some of the industry’s heavy hitters.
Witnesses for the December 3rd hearing have not yet been announced. On who may take to the floor of Room 2128 of the Rayburn House Office Building at 10:00am ET, Poker Players Alliance (PPA) Executive Director John Pappas speculated, “We’re not certain who they are going to be, but I would suspect that there will be people who can talk about how internet gambling is licensed and regulated in other jurisdictions. You may see people discuss how licensing and regulation can protect problem gamblers and minors.” Others who have appeared in front of committee hearings in the past include professional poker players and representatives from banking associations.
The hearing will likely last around two hours and, after it has concluded, HR 2266 or HR 2267 may be scheduled for markup. Pappas claimed that markup could occur within one week of the hearing, although the Financial Services Committee has been bogged down with a sluggish economy. HR 2266 delays mandatory compliance with the UIGEA rules by one year to December 1st, 2010. On whether the bill would be needed if the deadline passed next week, Pappas noted, “The expectation is it won’t need to be discussed because the decision will have been made to delay the regulations.”
The PPA, members of the Kentucky Congressional delegation, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, and the American Greyhound Track Operators Association have all reached out to U.S. Treasury Secretary
Timothy Geithner (pictured at right) and Federal Reserve Chairman
Ben Bernanke seeking a one-year delay in industry compliance with UIGEA regulations. If either official were to stay the rules, it would likely need to be decided on Wednesday, November 25th or Monday, November 30th given the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States. As of the time of writing, neither Geithner nor Bernanke has acted.
So what happens after December 1st, assuming the UIGEA regulations are fully enforced on that date?
Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA) Chairman Joe Brennan told PocketFives.com, “You’ll see a migration towards alternative and slower forms of funding and withdrawing from online accounts. You’ll also see some free market entrepreneurial solutions to it. People want to play poker online and those currently playing are already doing so in a fairly tough situation.” On whether online poker players will cash out en masse, Brennan speculated, “It doesn’t seem like you’ll have a run and there shouldn’t be one. That’s playing into the authors of the bill.”
Rich
TheEngineer Muny (pictured at left), the PPA’s State Director for Kentucky, told PocketFives.com what his reaction was to next week’s Financial Services Committee hearing: “We’re encouraged by the hearing. It gives us a chance to tell our side of the story and show the pitfalls of the regulations. The UIGEA has no clarity, so banks don’t have any idea what they should be allowing.” The UIGEA was attached to the SAFE Port Act, an unrelated port security measure, at the end of the 2006 Congressional session. In the Senate, it was not debated, but rather approved by unanimous consent.
On the prospects of achieving a delay from Geithner or Bernanke, Muny speculated, “I think we have a good chance of getting the delay, about 50-50, given that the horseracing industry is also weighing in. It shows that
overblocking isn’t a theory; it’s a reality. That grants us a lot of support and possibly may earn us a delay.” Overblocking first appeared in New Hampshire and North Dakota, where residents trying to purchase legal online lottery tickets had their transactions turned down by major credit card companies. In Kentucky, MasterCard denying legal transactions has complicated online wagering on horseracing.
Finally, Muny gave his take on what may happen come next Tuesday, December 1st: “After Tuesday, if nothing happens, it’s up to the sites to do what they have to do to make sure that funds are available. I don’t think that anything will be shut down or shut off.”
Stay tuned to PocketFives.com for the latest Poker Legislation news.