walter3215
Four of a Kind
Joined: 20 Feb 2007
Posts: 282
Location: wtby
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 Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 6:10 pm Post subject: Attn Conn players. Your senator is not behind us. |
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From Senator Joe Leiberman, in response to an email from me, urging him to support online poker players. No luck. No vote from me.
Thank you for contacting me regarding the Skill Game Protection Act (H.R. 2610), which was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Representative Robert Wexler (D-FL) and the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act of 2007 (H.R. 2046), which was introduced by Representative Barney Frank (D-MA).
While these bills differ in their specifics, their goal is largely the same. Both measures would amend the federal criminal code to allow regulated gambling over the Internet. H.R. 2610 would limit online gambling activities to "games of skill," or those games where it is believed a player's success is predominantly determined by his skill, such as poker or chess. In contrast, H.R. 2046 would legalize all gambling activities. Both measures would require gambling web sites to follow strict guidelines, including a requirement for extensive steps to ensure that no one gambling on their site is underage or resides in a state or territory where Internet gambling is prohibited by law.
Both bills were introduced in response to the anti-gambling provision that was included in the Security and Accountability for Every Port Act (P.L. 109-347). As you may know, toward the end of conference negotiations over this bill in 2006, a group of lawmakers, with the support of then majority congressional leaders, inserted a provision to curb Internet gambling. Specifically, the provision, which was written by Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ), directs the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve, within nine months of the bill's enactment, to issue regulations outlining procedures that financial institutions could use to identify and stop gambling-related transactions from being transmitted through their systems. Once the rules are promulgated, financial institutions will be barred from processing transactions for credit cards, checks, or other forms of payment from gamblers who bet illegally online.
While I strongly supported passage of the port security bill, which provided needed resources toward securing our nation's ports, I thought it was inappropriate for congressional leaders to attach anti-gambling language to the measure. I would have preferred the bill not include such an unrelated provision.
That being said, I have usually supported legislation to limit Internet gambling, and I am unlikely to support proposals such as H.R. 2610 and H.R. 2046 as currently drafted, |
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