Online gambling is back before Congress, and some are betting it will move forward this time. Congress has swung into action this year after moves by states to set up their own Internet wagering systems. At least two bills to regulate Internet gambling have been introduced in the House of Representatives, and a Senate committee has scheduled a hearing on Wednesday on the matter.
After years of treating online gambling as criminal, the US government quietly shifted its stand in late 2011 when the Justice Department released an opinion stating that only sports betting should be prohibited under a 1961 federal law known as the Wire Act.
This opens the door to online poker, which is hugely popular on the Internet, and possibly other casino games along with state lotteries, say analysts. Nevada opened Internet wagering earlier this year, and New Jersey and Delaware have both passed legislation to authorize it.
Senator Jay Rockefeller commented that online gambling “…is a multi-billion dollar industry that comes with some serious risks, including the potential for money laundering used for terrorist financing. This alone demands that we take a hard look at what a growing Internet gambling industry means as more states have recent laws permitting online wagering”.
Our friends at the Poker Players Alliance support the Barton proposal and believe that the regulation of our industry would be beneficial. The original version of this online gambling story appeared on the Phys.org website.
