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Legislation favorable to internet gambling will be introduced next week, according to an article published by Reuters on Tuesday. Previously, Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA, pictured at right), the Chairman of the powerful House Financial Services Committee, had stated that legislation would be forthcoming after Congress’ Easter recess, but before the beginning of May. PocketFives.com can confirm that the Congressman “hopes to do it next week,” according to his Press Secretary, Steven Adamske. Let’s take a look at what the legislation could entail and how it may impact the internet gambling industry in the United States.

Adamske told PocketFives.com that “issues with getting the text written and our own time” have contributed to the delay in the bill’s introduction. He added, “We have two of the biggest consumer bills in the past 20 years in our Committee this week. They have taken up a lot of staff time.” Frank told Reuters, "We'll be introducing it next week and I plan to move on it.” During the last Congress, the Massachusetts lawmaker introduced a bill outlining a comprehensive framework to license and regulate the internet gambling industry in the United States. The Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act (HR 2046) was announced to the world in 2007, but was not acted upon by the end of the 110th Congress and must now be reintroduced for consideration.

Adamske cautioned that concerned online poker players must rally behind the bill in order for it to come through to fruition. Frank’s staff member asserted, “The success of this bill will depend on people going to their Representative and Senators and saying that they want the freedom to do what they want with their own money online.” The major lobbying force for the poker industry, the Poker Players Alliance, has been behind large-scale phone and letter writing campaigns for past bills that the organization has supported. It sits at over 1.2 million members.

Reuters claims that the bill to be introduced next week would likely “overturn a three-year-old U.S. ban on Internet gambling.” PocketFivers can vividly remember the closing moments of the 2006 Congressional session, when then-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) successfully attached the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) to an unrelated port security measure. The SAFE Port Act was not even discussed in the Senate, where it was passed by unanimous consent. Online poker players then saw the regulations of the UIGEA once again passed at the last minute, this time as “midnight rules” in the final moments of the Bush Administration’s time in the White House.

Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association Chairman Joe Brennan told PocketFives.com about the events leading up to the bill’s planned introduction next week: “We'll be glad to see the log jam finally broken and the legislation introduced. Frank's bill will undoubtedly undergo many changes during the legislative process, so the need to get the draft bill 'just right' is outweighed by the need to get the bill introduced. However, this is just the first step. A companion bill still needs to be introduced in the Senate and it's not clear who might sponsor it.”

Last September, Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) introduced S 3616, the Internet Skill Game Licensing and Control Act. The bill allowed for licensing online games of skill, which were defined as ones “in which success is predominantly determined by the skill of the players, including poker, bridge, and mahjong.” The bill also stated that games in which “players playing against each other and not against the operator of the game” were acceptable. It was referred to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, but was not acted upon and now must be reintroduced for consideration.

Aside from HR 2046, Frank has been the engine behind two versions of the Payments System Protection Act. The first piece of legislation, HR 5767, failed to make it out of the House Financial Services Committee in June. In September, the Committee approved the second edition, HR 6870, after a 30-19 vote largely split along party lines. However, the economy in the United States and around the world plunged around the same time, shelving HR 6870. The latter version suspended all enforcement of the UIGEA except for its sports betting provisions and called for discussion of what activities were permitted under the vague law.

We’ll keep you posted on the bill’s progress right here on PocketFives.com. Visit the Poker Legislation forum for related topics.