Lawmakers in U.S. May Change Internet Gambling Law Sooner Rather than Later
In 2006 the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was not a bill by itself, but part of a bigger bill dealing with port security. In 2006 lawmakers in America saw past the perils of the law and in the House the UIGEA was passed by a vote of 317-93. Of the majority vote more than a third came from Democrats.
Legislators in the US that have become more knowledgeable about the online gambling industry will not look to overturn the UIGEA. The House Ways and Means Committee will have the first chance to change the law, as they will he a proposal from Representative Jim McDermott.
In McDermott’s proposal online gambling would be taxed in America and is a part of a bigger legislation from Representative Barney Frank. The bigger bill would not only legalize online gambling, but it would also create the blueprint for regulating the online gambling industry in the U.S.
When the UIGEA was passed in 2006 there was less info available to the lawmakers about the online gambling issue. Since then there have been studies that have shown that the United States would reap billions of dollars in taxes from the gambling revenue.
Since the U.S. economy is struggling right now the billions of dollars would be of great help. McDermott has stated that he has come up with tons of ideas on how to increase revenue and that taxing the Internet gambling industry was the best one.
A major complaint against Internet gambling is the problems that may arise from more options for gambling. However, supporters of the legislation that Frank has proposed have seen how the Internet gambling industry has taken measures to protect underage gambling and curb problem gambling. These days there are many safeguards that are in place at Internet gambling websites.
Millions of residents of the United States already gamble over the Internet. Lawmakers in American, unlike a few years back, now know that cannot keep gamblers from finding ways to gamble over the Net. Frank thinks this is yet another reason why the online gambling industry should be a regulated one, as U.S. residents will feel ok with putting their money in gambling accounts that are government regulated.
The landscape has changed politically in the past few years in the nation’s capital and that may help push through the regulation of the online gambling industry. Currently, the House and the Senate are controlled by the Democrats and there are also Republicans that are aware their votes will have ramifications for the elections this fall. Because of these reasons the online gambling industry has a good shot at becoming legalized and regulated in the not too distant future.
