US to Legalize Online Gambling?

US congressman moves to legalize online gambling

2 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AFP) — A US congressman unveiled legislation on Wednesday which would legalize online gambling in the United States.

Representative Barney Frank, a Democrat from Massachusetts, said the bill would "enable Americans to bet online and put an end to an inappropriate interference with their personal freedom."

It would give the Treasury Department the authority to establish regulations and a licensing system for Internet gambling operators that would allow them to take bets from individuals in the United States.

Frank, who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, said Internet gambling operators would have to protect against underage gambling, compulsive gambling, money laundering and fraud or risk having their licenses revoked.

He said he planned to introduce separate legislation seeking to delay implementation of the bill which effectively banned online gambling in the United States, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA).

"The legislation will stop federal regulators from enforcing the UIGEA until Congress has had a chance to decide national policy," Frank said.

UIGEA, enacted in 2006, bans US banks, credit card and financial companies from handling Internet gambling bets and has been the target of fierce criticism that it would be an enforcement nightmare.

It is set to go into effect December 1, 2009.

UIGEA specifically prohibits gambling businesses from knowingly accepting payments made through credit cards, electronic funds transfers and checks.

The US ban on Internet gambling, enacted by the Bush administration and a Republican-controlled Congress, has been challenged as an unfair trade restriction at the World Trade Organization.

The European Commission has also launched an investigation into whether the US gambling ban discriminated against EU firms.

The head of US gambling website Youbet.com welcomed Frank's legislation on Wednesday.

"Chairman Frank's bill is a welcome and realistic approach to US Internet gambling," Youbet.com chief executive Michael Brodsky said in a statement.

"Illegal US online gambling is a growing multi-billion dollar industry," he said. "Chairman Frank's bill recognizes those realities and would bring this underground activity into the light ... providing much-needed revenue in these difficult economic times."

Betting on horse races is currently the only online gambling allowed in the United States.

Finally, there's a reason certain things like prostitution and gambling have been banned in a lot of places. It's not the morality necessarily but the host of other issues that come along with them. I'm not sure I'm ready to deal with the knock~on effects, as I'm involved with a fairly large community here and can see potential problems and conflicts of interest.

Online gambling is fine for those who want to do it, but please NOT in SL! Why do I say that? Not because of any moral concerns about people wasting their money or time, but because SL is a better place without all those ugly casinos full of zombified gamblers and sim-lagging casino campers!

One, that it's nearly impossible to trust a script because you can't see inside it. Any script can be rigged and without a gaming commission to check things out, there's gonna be trouble.

Online gambling is fine for those who want to do it, but please NOT in SL! Why do I say that? Not because of any moral concerns about people wasting their money or time, but because SL is a better place without all those ugly casinos full of zombified gamblers and sim-lagging casino campers!

If I could lawfully and fairly open a casino here, I would consider it.

A few things would still make me hesitate.

One, that it's nearly impossible to trust a script because you can't see inside it. Any script can be rigged and without a gaming commission to check things out, there's gonna be trouble.

And I sure can't afford to get licenced or whatever it takes. Regardless of the US Feds, the states want and will get their cut.

Finally, there's a reason certain things like prostitution and gambling have been banned in a lot of places. It's not the morality necessarily but the host of other issues that come along with them. I'm not sure I'm ready to deal with the knock~on effects, as I'm involved with a fairly large community here and can see potential problems and conflicts of interest.

Well the solution is simple. Give gambling businesses a continent if their own, that only people who wish to gamble can access. Maybe some more unheard voices will pop into a Linden's head and ask for it.

Just saw a story about this on Fox Newsersonally, I have no respect for Barney Frank, as he's one of the idiots that got us into the financial mess we're in...

Well the solution is simple. Give gambling businesses a continent if their own

Sounds a perfectly reasonable compromise. The reason I'm prejudiced against gambling in SL is because there was a huge and extremely ugly casino that was largely empty across the road from my home.

Legalizing online gambling has come up in the House and Senate before, but never made it very far. By the time it makes it thru all of the committees and actually wins thru both the House and the Senate and then gets signed in or veto overridden, well.... who knows what SL will be like when that day comes.

Well the solution is simple. Give gambling businesses a continent if their own, that only people who wish to gamble can access. Maybe some more unheard voices will pop into a Linden's head and ask for it.

...The greedy, deregulated banking industry can take the blame, as well as everyone who bought into the lie that real estate prices can only go up, up, up.

Finally, there's a reason certain things like prostitution and gambling have been banned in a lot of places. It's not the morality necessarily but the host of other issues that come along with them.

I don't know about Mr. Frank, but THIS is actually not correct. The banking industry was prodded into making questionable loans by government regulations, especially ones that established quotas. If a bank doesn't make enough loans to poor/minority customers, they are subject to government audits and fines. These regulations are still in place, and the few banks that actually DO make loans only to people that are able to repay are finding themselves pressured to take risks they don't want to.

The banks got around this by selling the risk...laundering the loans so that their books looked a lot better than they actually were.

The fact is that the banking industry is NOT deregulated. Had it not been manipulated for social purposes by the government, market forces would most likely have kept us from getting in the fix we are in now. Yet government's solution is...even MORE regulation.

Politicians do not know how to run banks or car companies, and they should keep their meddling fingers to themselves.

I don't know about Mr. Frank, but THIS is actually not correct. The banking industry was prodded into making questionable loans by government regulations, especially ones that established quotas.

Legalizing online gambling has come up in the House and Senate before, but never made it very far. By the time it makes it thru all of the committees and actually wins thru both the House and the Senate and then gets signed in or veto overridden, well.... who knows what SL will be like when that day comes.

Ah, that Rethuglican lie comes out in the strangest places. Sorry, to go off topic, but if you want the truth, check this out:

http://mediamatters.org/research/200901080014

"Barney Frank has advocated for policies that emphasize low-income home rentals as opposed to homeownership and supported legislation to strengthen oversight over Fannie and Freddie."

The greedy, deregulated banking industry can take the blame, as well as everyone who bought into the lie that real estate prices can only go up, up, up.

I don't know about Mr. Frank, but THIS is actually not correct. The banking industry was prodded into making questionable loans by government regulations, especially ones that established quotas. If a bank doesn't make enough loans to poor/minority customers, they are subject to government audits and fines. These regulations are still in place, and the few banks that actually DO make loans only to people that are able to repay are finding themselves pressured to take risks they don't want to.

The banks got around this by selling the risk...laundering the loans so that their books looked a lot better than they actually were.

The fact is that the banking industry is NOT deregulated. Had it not been manipulated for social purposes by the government, market forces would most likely have kept us from getting in the fix we are in now. Yet government's solution is...even MORE regulation.

Politicians do not know how to run banks or car companies, and they should keep their meddling fingers to themselves.