A Hope for Passage
The US Congress is ending its fall session and there is a growing hope in the
global online casino gambling industry that Congress will decide to negotiate
and pass Frank’s long-anticipated gambling bill that would repeal the flawed and
controversial UIGEA and instead legalize, regulate, and license the internet
gambling sites. According to a Congressman for the state of Utah, Jason Chaffetz,
there is a distinct possibility that Congress will choose to vote on Frank’s
bill before the session ends. Even more surprising is the fact that this
Republican Representative believes that there is a strong chance that Congress
will vote to pass the bill – something that most analysts are torn about.
Although Frank’s bill has gained bi-partisan support, there are still a lot of
right-wing conservatives supposedly morally opposed to a US online casino
gambling industry. The conservative right has really spent a lot of effort
spreading false information throughout the US about problem gambling and
addiction rates in an effort to prevent a repeal of the UIGEA. And although many
online casinos support new legislation, other current US sports betting groups
and national lotteries are protesting for fear of competition from the foreign
operators.
Chaffetz predicts that passing Frank’s new legislation will come down to
proceeding with actions very similar to what the Republicans did to get the
online casino bill passed in the first place. Although Frank is interested in a
straightforward and above-board approach to passing the new legislation, a large
last minute push by Democrats and supporters right a the end of the session
could be just what the bill needs to pass through. A quick push right now would
mean that the bill’s main detractors would not have time to launch a full
counter-attack on the bill. |