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Odds against Net gambling ban
Reuters
July 1, 2002, 4:00 PM PT
A congressional attempt to ban Internet gambling faces long odds of passage, handicappers say, as the clock winds down on the legislative year and interest groups continue to register their opposition.
Online casinos have proliferated in recent years, raking in billions of dollars from Internet users across the globe and raising fears that they could encourage compulsive gambling and undermine local regulations.
But despite attempts reaching back to 1995, Congress has been unable to pass a law that would undercut the unregulated, offshore Web casinos that stand to take in between $4.2 billion and $6.4 billion next year, according to estimates.
Any proposed ban has had to thread its way through the thicket of legalized gambling groups, including horse tracks, casinos and state lotteries, that fear a ban could upset existing operations or derail possible plans to set up Web sites of their own.
In the U.S. House of Representatives, two bills are awaiting a vote on the House floor, but observers say neither is likely to be called up anytime soon. In the U.S. Senate, Jon Kyl. R-Ariz., has pushed anti-gambling measures in past sessions but has not introduced a bill this year.
House Republican leaders, preoccupied with President Bush's proposed Department of Homeland Security, are reluctant to take up the issue before the August break.
"As of right now, we don't have those issues scheduled," said Rep. David Dreier, R-Calif., who as chair of the Rules Committee prepares bills for votes on the House floor.
Too many interests
Dreier's committee would have to harmonize two separate but compatible efforts.
One bill, which won approval from the House Financial Services Committee last fall, would prevent credit card companies and other financial-services companies from transferring money to Internet gambling operations.
A bill from Rep. Jim Leach, R-Iowa, was initially opposed by credit card issuers when it was introduced last year, but in recent months many companies have taken to blocking gambling payments on their own. The move is expected to slow gambling growth by as much as half next year, according to a recent analysis from brokerage firm Bear Stearns.
Another bill, which narrowly passed the Judiciary Committee last week, would update a 40-year-old law that bans interstate wagers so that it would clearly apply to the Internet. Sponsored by Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., it would enable law-enforcement agents to take down gambling sites and banner ads and stop credit card payments as well.
Goodlatte's bill attracted opposition early on from an array of gambling interests. Horse-racing groups worried that it would outlaw off-track betting, while casinos feared that it would derail future efforts to offer regulated, state-approved online casinos. The legislator modified his bill to avoid such practices, only to face charges from dog-track operators that the new version favored horse racing and was not strong enough.
After a lengthy, contentious debate, opponents in the Judiciary Committee eventually stripped the bill of Goodlatte's modifications, prompting gambling groups to withdraw their support.
"I think Bob Goodlatte did a tremendous job under very difficult circumstances in trying to come up with some sort of a consensus," said American Gaming Association President Frank Farenkopf, who withdrew his support after the amended bill passed. "He did the best he could."
Seeking support
After the hearing, Goodlatte said he needed help from both anti-gambling opponents and those concerned about preserving the right of states to regulate gambling.
"I didn't get enough support from either side," he said.
The bill is still backed by anti-gambling groups and a collegiate sports association, said a Goodlatte aide who declined to speculate on its chance of success.
With legislation stalled on Capitol Hill, some lawmakers hope the Bush administration will step in. Public education is as important as new laws, Rep. Frank Wolf said Wednesday after a Federal Trade Commission study found minors can easily access Internet gambling sites.
"The Bush administration has got to begin to engage on this issue, because the silence is beginning to be very deafening," the Virginia Republican said.
Reuters
July 1, 2002, 4:00 PM PT
A congressional attempt to ban Internet gambling faces long odds of passage, handicappers say, as the clock winds down on the legislative year and interest groups continue to register their opposition.
Online casinos have proliferated in recent years, raking in billions of dollars from Internet users across the globe and raising fears that they could encourage compulsive gambling and undermine local regulations.
But despite attempts reaching back to 1995, Congress has been unable to pass a law that would undercut the unregulated, offshore Web casinos that stand to take in between $4.2 billion and $6.4 billion next year, according to estimates.
Any proposed ban has had to thread its way through the thicket of legalized gambling groups, including horse tracks, casinos and state lotteries, that fear a ban could upset existing operations or derail possible plans to set up Web sites of their own.
In the U.S. House of Representatives, two bills are awaiting a vote on the House floor, but observers say neither is likely to be called up anytime soon. In the U.S. Senate, Jon Kyl. R-Ariz., has pushed anti-gambling measures in past sessions but has not introduced a bill this year.
House Republican leaders, preoccupied with President Bush's proposed Department of Homeland Security, are reluctant to take up the issue before the August break.
"As of right now, we don't have those issues scheduled," said Rep. David Dreier, R-Calif., who as chair of the Rules Committee prepares bills for votes on the House floor.
Too many interests
Dreier's committee would have to harmonize two separate but compatible efforts.
One bill, which won approval from the House Financial Services Committee last fall, would prevent credit card companies and other financial-services companies from transferring money to Internet gambling operations.
A bill from Rep. Jim Leach, R-Iowa, was initially opposed by credit card issuers when it was introduced last year, but in recent months many companies have taken to blocking gambling payments on their own. The move is expected to slow gambling growth by as much as half next year, according to a recent analysis from brokerage firm Bear Stearns.
Another bill, which narrowly passed the Judiciary Committee last week, would update a 40-year-old law that bans interstate wagers so that it would clearly apply to the Internet. Sponsored by Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., it would enable law-enforcement agents to take down gambling sites and banner ads and stop credit card payments as well.
Goodlatte's bill attracted opposition early on from an array of gambling interests. Horse-racing groups worried that it would outlaw off-track betting, while casinos feared that it would derail future efforts to offer regulated, state-approved online casinos. The legislator modified his bill to avoid such practices, only to face charges from dog-track operators that the new version favored horse racing and was not strong enough.
After a lengthy, contentious debate, opponents in the Judiciary Committee eventually stripped the bill of Goodlatte's modifications, prompting gambling groups to withdraw their support.
"I think Bob Goodlatte did a tremendous job under very difficult circumstances in trying to come up with some sort of a consensus," said American Gaming Association President Frank Farenkopf, who withdrew his support after the amended bill passed. "He did the best he could."
Seeking support
After the hearing, Goodlatte said he needed help from both anti-gambling opponents and those concerned about preserving the right of states to regulate gambling.
"I didn't get enough support from either side," he said.
The bill is still backed by anti-gambling groups and a collegiate sports association, said a Goodlatte aide who declined to speculate on its chance of success.
With legislation stalled on Capitol Hill, some lawmakers hope the Bush administration will step in. Public education is as important as new laws, Rep. Frank Wolf said Wednesday after a Federal Trade Commission study found minors can easily access Internet gambling sites.
"The Bush administration has got to begin to engage on this issue, because the silence is beginning to be very deafening," the Virginia Republican said.
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