Online gambling faces full House

Congress debating tougher Internet gambling bill

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Congress may deliver a blow to gamblers who prefer going online to going to Las Vegas.

The House is debating a bill that would clarify existing law by spelling out that Internet gambling is illegal. The legislation would forbid credit cards and other forms of payment from being used to settle online wagers and would allow authorities to work with Internet providers to block access to gambling Web sites.

Critics say policing the Internet is impossible and that it would be better to regulate the $12 billion industry and collect taxes on it.

The American Gaming Association, the industry's largest lobby, has opposed online gambling in the past but recently backed a study of the feasibility of regulating it.

The Internet gambling industry is headquartered almost entirely outside the United States, though about half its customers live in the U.S.

The House is scheduled to vote Tuesday on the bill sponsored by Reps. Bob Goodlatte, R-Virginia., and Jim Leach, R-Iowa. Some of the debate is expected to focus on whether the bill truly amounts to a ban.

Critics point to exemptions that they say would allow online lotteries and Internet betting on horse racing to flourish while cracking down on other kinds of sports betting, casino games and card games like poker.

"Regardless of your position on the issue, there is no reason for Congress to pick and choose which types of gaming should be exempted from what is being described as a ban on Internet gaming," Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nevada, wrote in a letter to colleagues Monday.

She is expected to offer an amendment that would strip out exemptions in the bill for state lotteries and the horse industry.

Congress has considered similar bills several times. In 2000, disgraced lobbyist Jack Ambramoff led a fierce campaign against it on behalf of an online lottery company. Online lotteries are allowed in the latest bill at the behest of states.

Under the provision that relates to horse racing, betting operators would not be prohibited from any activity allowed under the Interstate Horseracing Act. That law was written in the 1970s to set up rules for interstate betting on racing. The industry successfully lobbied for legislation several years ago to clarify that horse racing over the Internet is allowed.

Greg Avioli, chief executive officer of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, said the mention of horse racing in the bill is "a recognition of existing federal law," not a new carve-out.

Avioli said the racing industry has a strong future in the digital age and acknowledged that the bill would send Internet gamblers to racing sites. "They'd return to the one place they can bet legally," he said.

The Justice Department has taken a different view on the legality of Internet betting on horse races. In a World Trade Organization case involving Antigua, the department said online betting on horse racing remains illegal under the 1961 Wire Act despite the existence of the more recently passed, and updated, Interstate Horseracing Act.

The department hasn't actively enforced its stance, but observers say it is possible that the agency and the racing industry could face off in court in the future.

Like the racing industry, professional sports leagues also like the bill. They argue that Web wagering could hurt the integrity of their sports.

Many conservatives back the bill on moral grounds, arguing that Internet betting is harmful to society.

John Kindt, a business professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who has studied the issue, calls the Internet "the crack cocaine" of gambling.

"There are no needle marks. There's no alcohol on the breath. You just click the mouse and lose your house," he said.

Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Arizona, is leading support for the ban in the Senate. The issue has not been debated in that chamber this year, and the measure hasn't been identified by Senate leaders as a top priority.

If the horse provision were stricken from the bill, there's a good chance the measure would run into objections from Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, and others from racing states.

The casino and horse track people must be feeling their envelopes coming in a little light lately.

Don't forget citizens, the Congress has an election to win in less than four months.

_________________
CSFMB: Home of the small minded

Now I really question what kind of education my kid is getting in Champaign with this kind of nut teaching him in business school. It's called being an adult. We have all kinds of vices and opportunities to screw up in life....alcohol, drugs (prescription and illegal), gambling, etc. Some people can behave like an adult responsibly in doing these things, and some people cannot. So do we legislate away all the vices?

I have no problem with restricting access to kids and most online services are pretty stringent in requiring proof of age. And if prohibiting credit card transactions will reduce minors' involvement, then I could be for that too. There are other ways that responsible adults can fund offshore accounts without credit cards. But to ban this outright would just create an even more prosperous street corner gambling industry. Is that what they want...they want the Mob running illegal gambling rather than public companies, many of them publicly-traded companies? And to say that online gambling is "crack cocaine" is greatly minimizing the harm that crack is doing in our communities.

You make too much sense, Coach. Public policy issues -- particularly those that involve strident beliefs -- are rarely solved with consensus satisfaction, let alone with common sense. Add to that how difficult it has always been try to legislate a change from an illegal vice to a legal and taxable one. Of course the most sensible, tax-effective approach is to legalize online gaming and apply the same laws and restrictions as are in effect for brick and mortar casinos. But with the religious right majority in Congress, it is doubtful we will see that kind of logic prevail.

Catholics are not the religious right. They are more the religious left, actually. "Organized" religion is usually not front and center on this debate. Catholics love gambling. Many parishes would not survive without their weekly bingo games. So at least most priests are not hypocrites on this issue. No, it's the Southern Baptists, born again televangelists, and the direct mail political action committee "churches" that are the most vocal opponents to gambling.

The House passed this without much opposition (except for my guy Barney Frank), but word is the Senate couldn't give a rat's ass about this bill. Good news...

Of course the Senate wouldn't care.......YET

While the focus is the Offshore guys right now, the boys in Vegas don't want it squashed as they know one day, if it gets approval, the Vegas casinos will dominate the market.

Offers such as play for credits in the hotel, online everything, etc.

And as comfortable as I am with getting money from Antigua, I would still feel better about gettintg a check from MGM, Ceasars or Ballys.

And they all want in...BAD!

_________________
"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

yep. The Illinois reps. voted pretty much along party lines with the Rs voting for it and the Ds opposing it...except for D Melissa Bean in the Northwest Burbs, who voted with the Rs in supporting it.

The Rs in the House truly believe that this is the kind of issue that resonates with their red state voters. I've seen their talking points and they are all about pushing their "values agenda". They have read their polling that tells them their voters want this kind of moralistic approach to governing. And with the Ds in disarray -- with the Dean-Emanuel feud harming D fundraising and funneling cash to candidates -- the Rs may rule Congress again after November. And if so, they'll continue to believe this kind of righteous stuff works with their base.

[quote="Coast2Coast"]Catholics are not the religious right. They are more the religious left, actually. "Organized" religion is usually not front and center on this debate. Catholics love gambling.

Amen. I always say that three of the most important things to Catholics:
gambling, football and alcohol.

I resemble that remark.

]

That probably explains why we have so much guilt.

why can state govt. pay for commercials promoting lottery with taxpayer money, yet joe citizen can't make a wager on a football game except in nevada ? the notion that the fix would be in is comical. Billions are wagered in this country w/ bookies. Politicians who say ok to state lottery and horseracing and riverboat casinos, but no to sports betting are hypocrites.