HE LEGISLATION by Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., would
extend the current federal ban on interstate gambling on
sports by telephone or wire to most other forms of
gambling, including "virtual casinos" that allow interactive
betting.
Similar legislation is pending in the House.
The Kyl bill essentially would extend the current federal
telephone and wire gambling prohibition to cover new
technologies including microwave transmission and
fiberoptic cable.
CRIMINALIZES BETS
But, for the first time, it would criminalize the act of
placing a bet, making Internet gamblers eligible for up to
three months in prison and fines of $1,500 or three times the
amount wagered, whichever is greater. Operators of gaming
sites on the World Wide Web would face fines or
imprisonment.
Under Kyl's proposal, states could still use the Internet
for lotteries and for off-track betting on horse or dog races,
as long as out-of-state bettors can participate.
But senators on Wednesday rejected by an 82-18 vote
an amendment by Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, that would
have created another exception from the ban for Indian
tribes.
Kyl objected to the exception, saying an Indian-run site
could be used by anyone with Internet access, creating a
mammoth loophole.
"It goes to any state and into any home and to any
child," said Kyl.
UNENFORCEABLE?
Opponents of the legislation say it will be
unenforceable, since nearly all of the Web site gambling
sites are located outside the United States.
The Justice Department, in an analysis of the legislation
in June, raised that argument. It also called the bill overly
broad and noted that it would criminalize some activities that
would be legal if they were performed over a telephone.
In the report, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Kevin
DiGregory also said his agency opposes prosecuting
bettors.
The bill was revised after the Justice Department
analysis to address some of the points raised in the report.
One such revision, added to the bill by Sen. Richard
Bryan, D-Nev., would exempt sites that run popular sports
"rotisserie" leagues, in which people choose rosters of
professional athletes and bet on their statistics, as long as
fees are not used to pay off bets. It was accepted
unanimously on Wednesday.
The Justice Department has estimated that $600 million
was wagered illegally over the Internet last year, a tenfold
increase over the previous year, said a Kyl aide.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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