Barney Frank's radical online gambling legislation for 2009

17 August, 2009

After taking a brief look at Sen. Robert Menendez’ bill entitled “The Internet Poker and Games of Skill Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act,” today Silver Bets online casino takes a peek at what the number one advocate in the US Senate for reformation of online-gambling legislation, namely Barney Frank (D-Mass.) has cooked up for when Congress re-enters session in September.

Frank’s pet bill for the online gambling industry at present is bill HR 2267 or “the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act.” Introduced in May, the bill now has some 54 co-sponsors, a pretty amazing show of hands considering the sweeping and (relatively) radical nature of the legislation: After all, HR 2267 seeks to establish a complete licensing and regulatory framework for online gambling in the United States – quite a step from its gray-area status right now.

Key to the bill – and surely that which makes it attractive to signatory senators – HR 2267 would allow individual states to make law regarding the legality of online gambling within their territory in addition to “other restrictions on the activity if determined necessary.” In other words, the proposed California model of an intranet-type system for poker players might become a model for the future, as might the European-state model, which typically allows only approved (or even only government-run) websites from operating within the national border.

Naturally, the Internet Poker and Games of Skill Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act covers the requisite consumer protection and safeguards against individual abuse.

Some estimates put the amount of tax revenue the US federal government would gain under Frank’s bill at as high as $6.27 billion per year.