Online Gambling Legislation Approved

Submitted by Gary on Thu, 2010-08-05 at 14:28

The fight for legalized online gambling in the United States has been a tough one, but Barney Frank is finally making some headway. Last week, a House panel approved the Senator’s bill that would legalize online gambling and repeal the UIGEA.

The House Financial Services Committee approved the legislation with a vote of 41 to 22, allowing for the bill to move on to the floor of the House Democratic leadership. According to political analysts, the democrats may pass the new bill on its own, or as part of another bill that will be passed later this year.

This is a huge victory for Barney Frank, who has led the movement for online gambling for the past two years. He believes that adults should have the right to choose to gamble online or not, and compares the current online gambling ban to the prohibition of alcohol, taking away Americans’ right to do what the wish with their free time.

The new bill would replace the UIGEA, which currently bans American citizens from playing at online casinos and prohibits online gambling websites from being operated from within the United States. However, American-based websites that continued to operate in the country despite the UIGEA will be barred once the new law is passed. Betting on professional sports like the NBA and NFL will also be prohibited.

This is certainly a step in the right direction for the entire online gambling industry. So, online casino players are operators should brace themselves for the passing of the online gambling legislation.