Why We Shouldn’t Put Our Hopes on US Gambling Reform Just Yet

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Tuesday, 10 August 2010 - 19:50

After the House Financial Services Committee approved Barney Frank’s bill to lift the ban on online gaming in the US and introduce new licensing regulations, there has been plenty of talk about what will happen next.

But we may be waiting a good while longer for this bill to become a reality, as it will have to pass through various committees before being written into law.

First of all, a partnering legislation, which has set out to determine ways of taxing Internet gaming transactions, will need to be passed by the Ways and Means Committee. But there is only one more month left in the Congressional year and the House of Representatives will also be taking a break between August 9 and September 12.

As the Ways and Means committee will not be going to vote this week, the earliest possible date will be the middle of September. And in order for Frank’s bill to made law this year, both legislations will need to pass through the House, while the Senate would also need to pass another similar bill – all by October 8th.

So why is Congress slowing up so much at the end of the year? The answer lies with the November elections. It is predicted that Republicans will be picking up more seats this time around, with some believing they will have the majority, and this will be another cause for concern.

After 34 yes votes for Frank’s bill, it received 4 ‘no’ votes from Democrats, but 18 from Republicans. The popular opinion in the US is that online gaming should be legalised, but if the Republicans have more say in Congress this could slow progress even further.