"A House committee passed legislation today that would legalize some Internet gambling, allowing U.S. residents to place online bets with companies licensed by the Treasury Department. The measure, sponsored by Representative Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, would roll back a law designed to block such wagers. That four-year-old law, which took effect in June, bars banks from processing payments to offshore gambling websites.
“My primary goal is Americans ought to be free to do what they wish without this kind of intrusion,” said Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat whose committee passed the legislation 41-22, with one lawmaker voting “present...The intrusive regulation is a problem for the financial institutions,” Frank said.
A separate measure that depends on House passage of Frank’s plan would impose taxes on online poker and other Internet gambling, bringing the federal government as much as $42 billion over 10 years, according to a congressional analysis. . .
Opponents, such as Representative Spencer Bachus, the top Republican on the Financial Services Committee, say legalizing such betting would harm society and that Congress has more pressing issues to tackle. Bachus, of Alabama, has said the measure would “fleece” Americans by removing restrictions on online gambling and exposing them to “unwise and harmful financial choices.” . .Bachus says the revenue estimates for the proposed taxes on gambling are bloated because they assume all states would participate."
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-28/h...t-gambling.html
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US House committee takes first step to legalize internet gambling
Started by NYCGuy, Jul 29 2010 11:35 AM
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