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 Despite outrage from players across the U.S., Republican lawmakers are standing firmly behind the current ban on online gambling.
House Financial Services chairman Spencer Bachus, a long time opponent to the online gambling industry and one of the co-sponsors of the 2006 UIGEA which barred banks from completing transactions for online gambling sites, said the he supported the US Department of Justice's recent actions.
"Off-shore Internet gambling sites operating in the United States are all illegal and therefore, by definition, are criminal enterprises," he said. "For years, I have been warning about the particular dangers illegal Internet gambling poses, especially to our young people, many of whom are becoming addicted to gambling at increasingly early ages."
While several Republicans have supported measures to legalize online gambling over the years, the vast majority of Republicans continue to speak out against online gambling, which is pretty ironic considering that the Republican party claims to support individual freedoms and the free market.
Democratic Rep. Barney Frank has been fighting for years to legalize and regulate online gambling and he is hoping that recent events will help him garner the support he needs to pass H.R. 1174, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act. Inside sources told The Hill however that it is very unlikely that Frank's bill will be heard. They said that Republican leadership including House Majority Leader Eric Cantor have supported the ban on Web gambling and will strongly oppose any efforts to pass the bill.
We encourage those who want legalized and regulated online gambling in the U.S. to visit http://theppa.org/takeaction/ and contact your local representatives.
As always, stay tuned to Casinofan for more news and updates.
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