Barney Frank’s Latest Bill Passes First Hurdle

Tuesday afternoon online poker players in the United States got a solid dose of good news courtesy of Barney Frank.

Frank, the Massachusetts congressman and chairman of House Financial Services Committee, managed to get H.R. 6870, the Payments Systems Protection Act of 2008, was approved by a 30-19 vote. The approval means that the bill can move forward and could spell some relief from the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). Obviously the Poker Players Alliance is extremely happy with the latest news.

“The PPA is pleased that the House Financial Services Committee today recognized the need to provide necessary clarification of what constitutes ‘unlawful Internet gambling’ under the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act by passing H.R. 6870,” said Al D’Amato, chairman of the PPA.

The new bill would direct the Department of the Treasury and Federal Reserve System to appoint a special judge to define the types of unlawful online gambling and conduct an economic impact study on the costs for compliance. Multiple financial institutions have expressed concern over the UIGEA and plans to enforce the initial legislation.

“This important vote acknowledges that the previous attempt to prohibit Internet gambling was overly burdensome and unworkable,” said Jeffrey Sandman, spokesperson for the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative.  “We hope this vote indicates a willingness of Congress to develop a more sensible approach towards Internet gambling.  Rather than prohibit an activity millions of Americans enjoy in the privacy of their homes, just as they can do in a casino, Congress should create a framework to regulate Internet gambling as a way to protect consumers and collect billions in much-needed federal revenue.”

The initial version of Frank’s bill was defeated a few months ago. At the time opponents of the bill wanted a clearer definition of what would be excluded from the UIGEA. This new bill was Frank’s response.

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