Barney Frank Online Gambling Bill Gains New Cosponsor

Gambling News - March 10th, 2010 - Written By Bonnie

It had been months since a new cosponsor had joined up with Barney Frank's HR2267. This changed on February 26th, as Representative Charles Wilson (D-OH) became the 66th co-sponsor of Frank's HR 2267, or the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act.

The Frank bill, as it is colloquially called, has been in the works since May of 2009. The deadline for the implementation of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act would have taken effect on December 1st of 2009, but due to the slow progress the Frank bill had been making, legislators decided to postpone this deadline by six months. With less than four months and counting, the Frank bill will have to move forward through the process or face further difficulty.

Though widely considered the most significant advancement toward legal online gambling, other efforts are in the works. Two senators, Judd Gregg (R-NH) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) have teamed up to introduce the Bipartisan Tax Fairness and Simplification Act. This new act would ultimately push forth the legalization of online gambling. Included in the bill is a provision that would enact this legalization. This was ultimately how the UIGEA had been passed - an obfuscated provision of a completely unrelated Bill.

Whether or not the Frank bill will move forward prior to the implementation of the UIGEA is still in the air. While most legislative bills do not move forward from the overseers in the committees and subcommittees, the ever growing need for alternative tax revenue and the exploding popularity of USA online gambling may prompt legislators and lobbyists alike to move forth on the legalization of online gambling.

Regardless of what happens, states will still have the power over their jurisdictions to allow Online Gambling to continue unfettered. Such attempts are being considered in California, Florida, and Iowa.