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 Barney Frank recently announced that HR 2267 (the Internet Gambling Regulation Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act) will be marked up this July as part of a special hearing in the House Financial Services Committee.
Last week Frank spoke out against the UIGEA a law which he feels many of his colleagues had been hoodwinked into voting for. "It is true that the House did pass by a large margin the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act'," recalled Frank. "The Senate fooled us. It acted quickly. Because we had a Republican leader who was intent on running for President, he got that bill added onto a bill in the Senate to which it was unrelated. When that became law, it became law to the consternation of many."
Late last year, the Committee looked into the potential legalization of internet gambling and Spencer Bachus asked that the US Treasury and Federal Reserve hold a follow up hearing on the matter. Unfortunately more pressing issues such as health reform and the recession got in the way and no further meetings were held on the matter. Last week the House Committee on Ways and Means did sit down for a meeting to discuss potential tax revenue that could be earned from the practice but nothing of major consequence took place.
It is good news however that as the UIGEA looms on the horizon many are fighting the clock to get the matter fixed. Poker supporters are looking forward to July's mark up date. "We want to see a very successful markup," said John Pappas of the PPA. "We want to make this as bipartisan as possible and I think we're on the right path to do that."
With any luck Frank and his colleagues will be able to get another extension on the enforcement of the UIGEA and pass the HR 2267 before more damage can be done to the industry. It is exciting to finally see a markup date hopefully there will be no further delays for the bill.
We'll keep you posted.
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