While you were busy hitting the links or just taking it easy this weekend, two big developments occurred on the legislative front in the United States. To catch you up to speed, back in 2006, former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, from Tennessee, pushed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act through Congress. The measure wasn’t even discussed in the Senate and was instead passed by “Unanimous Consent.” Two years later, Congressmen Barney Frank (D-MA) and Ron Paul (R-TX) have introduced legislation which would stop the federal government from implementing the UIGEA. HR 5767 would be a welcome sight for the industry within the United States. It was announced on Friday that the bill is scheduled to be marked up on Tuesday, June 24th. In addition, two more co-sponsors have signed on, bringing the total number to 20.
The mark-up will occur at 10:00am ET on Tuesday, June 24th. During the mark-up session, Congressmen who are members of the House Financial Services Committee will suggest amendments to the bill and change the text of the legislation in order to make it palatable on the House floor. Early in the day on Friday, the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative, whose endorsers include eCOGRA and the European Gaming and Betting Association, released the following statement from spokesperson Jeffrey Sandman: “Congress has studied this issue and heard from the financial services community and federal regulators that the current ban on Internet gambling is burdensome and doomed to fail. Now it is time for Congress to change course and find a way to protect the millions of Americans that are continuing to gamble online.”
To top it off, the addition of two more Congressmen pushes the total number of co-sponsors to 20. Both were officially added on Thursday, June 19th; they represented the first new co-sponsors in a month. Here’s a look at the roster of the co-sponsors of HR 5767 along with the district each represents and the date they signed on to the bill. All but Ron Paul and Peter King are Democrats:
Neil Abercrombie [HI-1] – 6/19/2008
Gary Ackerman [NY-5] – 4/24/2008
Joe Baca [CA-43] – 5/15/2008
Shelley Berkley [NV-1] – 4/24/2008
Michael Capuano [MA-8] – 5/15/2008
Russ Carnahan [MO-3] – 5/15/2008
Wm. Lacy Clay [MO-1] – 4/24/2008
Steve Cohen [TN-9] – 5/22/2008
Bob Filner [CA-51] – 4/24/2008
Charles Gonzalez. [TX-20] – 5/15/2008
Luis Gutierrez [IL-4] – 4/24/2008
Michael Honda [CA-15] – 4/24/2008
Peter King [NY-3] – 4/24/2008
Stephen Lynch [MA-9] – 6/19/2008
James McGovern [MA-3] – 4/24/2008
James Moran [VA-8] – 4/24/2008
Ron Paul [TX-14] – 4/10/2008
Ed Perlmutter [CO-7] – 5/15/2008
Steven Rothman [NJ-9] – 5/22/2008
Robert Wexler [FL-19] – 4/24/2008
When HR 5767 will head to the House floor remains to be seen. However, marking the bill up is an important step in the right direction. Barney Frank, the bill’s sponsor, is the Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. Keep checking back to PokerSourceOnline.com for the latest updates from Washington, D.C.