Senators Announce Legislation to Legalize, Regulate Online Gambling

Gambling News - January 25th, 2010 - Written By Glen

The issue over online gambling has been one that has been very active in the media and legislative branch lately, as special interest groups, lobbyists, and even legislators have been working toward the legalization of online gambling. While the House of Representatives has been spearheading the issue, the Senate had fired back with a bill that would legalize online poker. While the Senate bill had stalled, a new one would ultimately take its place.

Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Judd Gregg (R-NH) have introduced a new piece of legislation - the Bipartisan Tax Fairness and Simplification Act of 2010. What does this have to do with online gambling? Simply put, the legislation does not contend only with tax codes, as part of the legislation would cover the legalization, regulation, and taxation of online gambling. This is a strict parallel to how the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act had managed to work its way through the legislative process. The UIGEA had been sneaked in through the Safe Port Act, a bill that was designed to add protection against terrorism.

The Safe and SEcure Internet Gambling Initiative has commended the senators of opposite parties for their legislative attempt to move forward the legalization of online gambling.

"With so much media focus on the differences between Democrats and Republicans in Congres, this bipartisan initiative highlights the growing support on both ends of Capitol Hill for replacing the failed prohibition on Internet Gambling with a system to regulate the industry, protect consumers, and generate billions in new revenue," said Michael Waxman of the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative. "We applaud Senators Wyden and Gregg for taking the initiative to address this issue."

One of the major bumps in the road that the legalization of online gambling had faced was that of the bipartisan disputes. The liberal/conservative views on gambling had made it difficult for agenda to be furthered, but the new bill, the Bipartisan Tax Fairness and Simplification Act of 2010 covers prospects that will satisfy both ends of the political spectrum. Not only is gambling covered by the legislation, but so are reduced taxes, simplified personal and corporate tax, and easier deductions and exemptions.

While USA online gambling has been facing tough times with the legislative process, the continued attempts by different legislators is giving hope to those constituents in society who wish to see the online gambling industry regulated. With an initiative to legalize Online Gambling going through both the House and the Senate, it is likely that the movement will push forward at an unprecedented rate.