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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Hope Praytochange who wrote (761638)	4/26/2007 5:20:55 PM
From: DuckTapeSunroof	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 769670

Frank Proposes Allowing Online Gambling in the U.S. (Update4) By William Roberts and Brian Faler bloomberg.com April 26 (Bloomberg) -- Representative Barney Frank, the Democratic chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, introduced legislation to allow online gambling in the U.S., loosening a ban enacted last year. The legislation would allow Americans to bet online with licensed Internet operators that have safeguards against underage and compulsive gambling and agree to be subject to U.S. jurisdiction and taxes, Frank said at a press conference in Washington. ``The issue here is whether adults who work for their money, in the comfort of their homes, should be allowed to engage in a form of recreation which they enjoy and which has no conceivable negative impact on anybody else,'' said Frank, a 14- term lawmaker from Massachusetts. Some Republicans said they would vigorously oppose Frank's legislation, and lawmakers predicted an uproar over it. ``There are high levels of passion by people on both sides,'' said Representative Ray LaHood, an Illinois Republican. ``The people who are opposed feel very strongly.'' The proposed legislation would let the U.S. Treasury Department set protections against money laundering and fraud. It bars betting on college and professional sports whose governing bodies such as the National Collegiate Athletic Association and National Football League don't sanction gambling. Financial Payments The Republican-controlled Congress passed legislation Sept. 30 that curbs financial payments from banks to offshore Internet casinos that are illegal under U.S. law. Sponsored by Representative Jim Leach, an Iowa Republican who lost a re- election bid in November, the law is aimed at shutting down the payment system for Internet gambling. Democrats won control of Congress in January. Still, opponents of Internet gambling predicted Frank's bid would be defeated. ``I don't see the Congress going in the opposite direction anytime soon,'' said Representative Bob Goodlatte, a Virginia Republican and co-sponsor of last year's ban. ``I am very strongly opposed.'' Internet-based casinos such as PartyGaming Plc and 888 Holdings Plc, operating in locations such as Gibraltar and Antigua, took in billions from U.S. gamblers. Analysts said the legislation to create exemptions for license holders, may favor U.S. gambling companies. ``Wouldn't you expect licensing in the U.S. to benefit U.S. companies and U.S. shareholders?'' said Ivor Jones, an analyst at Panmure Gordon & Co. in London. Shares Down Shares of PartyGaming dropped 7.5 pence, or 13 percent, to 51 pence in London, the steepest slide since Oct. 16, which was the first trading day after the company ceased U.S. operations. After slumping 76 percent in 2006, the stock had almost doubled this year before Frank's remarks today. Shares of London-based Sportingbet Plc and Gibraltar-based 888 Holdings Plc also fell in London trading today. Frank introduced the bill with Representative Peter King, a New York Republican, and 10 other co-sponsors. Frank and King said they expect many other members will come forward to support the legislation. ``This is a kind of libertarian, let-people-have-fun kind of thing,'' Frank said. The ban has ``activated'' online poker players and others who are lobbying now for a reversal, he said. The government of Antigua, which is home to dozens of online gambling operations and has brought a complaint against the U.S. in the World Trade Organization, praised Frank's initiative in a written statement. Antigua Encouraged ``While we have not yet seen the legislation,'' said Errol Cort, Antigua's minister of finance and the economy, ``we are encouraged that such a prominent legislator in the United States has stepped forward in support of a rational approach to the provision of remote gaming services.'' Poker Players Alliance Chairman Alfonse D'Amato, a former Republican senator from New York, called Frank's proposal ``a common sense approach to Internet gambling. ``The Internet poker genie is out of the bottle. You cannot put it back,'' D'Amato said in a statement. ``The United Kingdom successfully regulates gambling, and with this bill we can too.'' Representative Shelley Berkley, a Nevada Democrat, plans to introduce a measure next week calling for a one-year federal study of online gambling, said her spokesman, David Cherry. To contact the reporter on this story: William Roberts in Washington at wroberts@bloomberg.net Last Updated: April 26, 2007 15:17 EDT