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Join the Fight for Online Poker in the U.S.In 2006 the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill, sponsored by Jim Leach (R-Iowa), called the "Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006" (UIGEA). Since then, groups such as the Poker Player's Alliance have been lobbying U.S. lawmakers to change the legislation so that online poker can continue to be played in the United States. Support the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling InitiativeThe Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative encourages you to contact your Representative now to thank them or ask for their support for regulated Internet gambling. Visit www.safeandsecureig.org and take action today. Lawmakers Debate Online PokerOn April 2, 2008, the U.S. congress heard expert testimonies from the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Treasury Department and financial service companies. Witnesses unanimously agreed that U.S. financial service companies would face serious regulatory burdens in attempting to enforce the UIGEA, a law that is not likely to stop millions of Americans from gambling online. "Imposing this enormous unfunded law enforcement mandate on banks in place of the government's law enforcement agencies is not likely to be a successful public policy." "Rather than trying to implement a ban that is unclear, burdensome and doomed to fail, Congress should instead look to regulate Internet gambling in order to protect consumers and collect billions of dollars that is being lost to offshore Internet gambling operators."View the testimony from the hearing. New, Better Online Poker Legislation IntroducedCongressman Barney Frank (D-MA) introduced the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act (H.R. 2046) last year, which establishes a regulatory and enforcement framework for licensed gambling operators to accept bets and wagers from individuals in the U.S. It would include a number of built-in consumer protections, including safeguards against compulsive and underage gambling, money laundering, fraud and identity theft. States would also have the right to control what, if any, level of Internet gambling is permissible within their borders and could apply additional taxes and restrictions. A companion piece of legislation to the Frank bill introduced by Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA), the Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax Enforcement Act of 2008 (H.R. 5523), would ensure the collection of taxes on regulated Internet gambling activities. According to a tax revenue analysis prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers, taxation of regulated Internet gambling is expected to generate between $8.7 billion to $42.8 billion in federal revenues over its first 10 years. |
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