Barney Good Luck

Thursday, May 07, 2009 at 2:40 PM
Written by Daniel O

May 6, 2009 was a good day for the online gambling community, in the United states and around the world, though how it turns out in the long run is yet to be seen.

Two US Congressmen introduced a much anticipated, and equally hyped, legislation that would regulate the online gambling market in the USA and in essence repeal the ban in place.

Reps. Barney Frank (D-MA) and Peter King (R-NY) state their end goal in the 48 page bill thus:

"Internet gambling in the United States should be controlled by a strict federal licensing and regulatory framework to protect underage and otherwise vulnerable individuals, to ensure the games are fair, to address the concerns of law enforcement, and to enforce any limitations on the activity established by the states and Indian tribes."

In other words: the solution to these issues is not to ban the entire industry but to systematically and responsibly cope with them.

HR 2267 Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act insists that individual states and Indian tribes across the US should be allowed to manage online gambling in their jurisdictions as they see right. It also phrases new (strict) licensing requirements, and addresses the sports betting market, widely popular in sports-crazed America.

We wish the US representatives and their constituency good luck!