House Committee to Discuss Web Gambling Ban Repeal

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 2, 2009 - 11:33am.

Washington - The House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing on Thursday to discuss Chairman Barney Frank's (D-Mass.) bill that would repeal the outright U.S. ban on Internet wagering, and instead permit licensed gambling operators and institute government regulations on the sector.

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which bans most forms of online gambling in the U.S., was signed into law in 2006 by President George W. Bush.

The Federal Reserve and Treasury Dept. recently extended the compliance date for the law by six months, to June 2010.

Rep. Frank's Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act would establish a framework to permit licensed gambling site operators, in addition to creating consumer protections, and allowing each state to determine whether to allow Internet gambling activity and apply other restrictions.

A report from the Joint Committee on Taxation projected that up to $42 billion could be generated over 10 years for the U.S. Treasury in a regulated online gambling environment, mainly through corporate taxes and license fees on site operators.

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