Senate Minority Leader, Democrat Harry Reid, was making online gambling news when he announced his renewed push for a full online gambling ban in the U.S. including poker. Reid told the Las Vegas Sun late Monday that if he isn’t able to get an exemption for poker from a proposed ban of online gaming making its way through Congress, he would consider supporting a full online gaming ban.

“Unless we can get something done with poker, I’m going to look closely — I haven’t made up my mind — but I’m going to look closely into banning it totally,” Reid said. “I’m going to take a hard look at it. It would be something I would certainly consider strongly.”

The bill to ban online gambling – Restore America’s Wire Act or RAWA – is co-sponsored by South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and Utah Republican Representative Jason Chavitz.  It is the brainchild of casino magnate and GOP mega-donor Sheldon Adelson, who has come under fire recently for his alleged role in a Chinese influence peddling scheme.

You can read more about a potential US online gambling ban at Gambling911

_____

A senior Democratic lawmaker said on Thursday he would push to pass legislation to repeal a three-year-old U.S. ban on Internet gambling that has hurt trade ties with European Union.

“I’m going to be pushing it,” House of Representatives Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank told reporters at a press conference to lay out his agenda for reforming U.S. financial regulation. Work on drafting the legislation should be completed this month, a House aide said.

Congress attempted in 2006 to quash online gambling in the United States by barring businesses from knowingly accepting payments in connection with unlawful Internet gambling, including payments made through credit cards, electronic fund transfers and checks.

European online companies lost billions in market value after the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) became law and they withdrew from the U.S. market.