The House Financial Services Committee voted overwhelmingly last week to pass a bill that would legalise and regulate internet gambling in the US.
Rep. Barney Frank’s H.R. 2267 would authorise the US Secretary of the Treasury to establish a system to license and regulate internet wagering, subject to additional oversight and licensing investigations performed by recognised state gaming authorities. The vote signalled a growing movement in Congress toward regulating and taxing online gambling.
In total, 14 amendments were made to the bill, including several that would appear to significantly strengthen the hand of domestic interests in the event that Congress moves to approve the legislation before the turn of the end of the current session.
Among the successful amendments are proposals that would exclude from US licensing any companies that have previously violated existing state or federal gambling laws, as well as restrictions that would require applicants to have a substantial presence within the US.
Other amendments clear the way for state lotteries to move online to offer games over the internet within the confines of their own state borders outside of any federal approval.
State lotteries - as well as internet horse racing operators - would also be excluded from a blanket ban on credit card payments for online gambling as proposed by committee chairman Frank himself.
The marked-up Frank bill also clarifies that nothing in the proposed legislation would require Indian gaming tribes to renegotiate existing compact agreements covering their land-based casinos.
