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 The House Financial Services Committee has scheduled a hearing entitled "HR 2267, Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act," for Wednesday July 21st. The bill which was introduced by Committee Chairman Barney Frank is the first to establish a comprehensive licensing and regulatory framework for the online gambling industry in the United States.
No witness list has been released and according to a House Financial Services Committee spokesperson, no markup of the bill will occur, so it should be interesting to see what they plan to be discussing. So far, the bill has attracted a total of 69 co-sponsors, with Republicans and Democrats alike showing their support for the measure though only half-dozen lawmakers have signed on this year.
The Poker Players Alliance (PPA) Executive Director John Pappas recently sat down with Poker News Daily to say, "We appreciate Chairman Frank calling another hearing on HR 2267. We hope this is the final step toward an eventual vote in his Committee on this legislation before the August recess. The PPA and the poker community stand ready to secure its passage."
Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA) Chairman Joe Brennan was not so upbeat about the news. "Hearings are nice; they keep the ball in the air," Brennan said. "What's needed are votes: committee votes, floor votes. The i-gaming lobby has been working too hard for too long. It deserves more than a hearing."
The December 3rd hearing on the bill featured testimony from Morongo Band of Mission Indians Tribal Chairman, Robert Martin, Wired Safety Executive Director, Parry Aftab, John F. Kennedy School of Government Professor, Malcolm Sparrow, National Council on Problem Gambling Executive Director, Keith Whyte, the Dowling Advisory Group's Jim Dowling, Independent Community Bankers of America's Samuel Vallandingham, and YouBet.com.
Executive Chairman Mike Brodsky. Curiously absent from the initial hearing were officials from the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve, who had, issued a six-month delay on the compliance of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) just days earlier. Committee member Spencer Bachus called for another hearing in which officials from the two government agencies would be in attendance; this is likely the hearing that is scheduled for next week.
Stay tuned for more details on the upcoming hearing. More information will be posted when it becomes available.
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