Lawmakers Bet on Internet Gambling Legislation

[Shame About Ray]

If running major financial institutions and the auto industry isn't enough for the Obama administration, a new House bill would put the Treasury Department in charge of Internet gambling.

Reps. Barney Frank, D-Mass., chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, and Peter King, R-N.Y., unveiled legislation Wednesday that would enable Americans to legally gamble online.

"The government should not interfere with people's liberty unless there is a good reason," Frank said. "This is, I believe, the single biggest example of an intrusion into the principle that people should be free to do things on the Internet. It's clearly the case that gambling is an activity that can be done offline but not online."

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In an obvious nod to the National Football League, the bill specifically excludes sports wagering. By definition that means that the legislation applies to . . . online poker.

The Frank bill does, by omission, contain some good news for sports bettors. Since banks would be relieved of the burden of reporting credit card transactions between U.S. residents and web sites that offer poker and other casino games, it would be impossible to distinguish deposits to off shore sites that are made for poker/casino play and those made for sports wagering. So unless the bill is amended and addresses that issue, that heat would be turned down considerably.