Support grows for relaxation of UIGEA
 August 9, 2007, 2:00 pm (1 year ago)The total number of co-sponsors to add their names to Bill HR2046, the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act, has risen to 35 after republican presidential Ron Paul threw his name into the mix this week.
The Bill was originally introduced by Congressman Barney Frank, Chairman of the influential House Financial Services Committee, in a bid to ensure the survival of internet gambling in the United States.
The Bill only received 11 sponsors when it was first tabled in April.
There has been an increasing groundswell of support for the Bill and many expect more sponsors to sign up in the coming months. If the Bill is passed it will do away with last October’s Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) and pave the way for a legal internet gambling industry regulated by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
The UIGEA outlawed payment by bank or credit card companies to internet casinos, poker rooms and other online gambling companies.
The law is known to have hit online gaming companies hard – some depended on the US market for as much as 80 percent of their revenue. This has led to increased investment by gambling operators in Europe and other parts of the world.
Congressman Paul described the UIGEA as an affront to individual freedom and said it should be up to individuals if they want to gamble online.
As well as the 35 Congressional Representatives backing the Bill, it has also received the support of the Poker Players’ Alliance.
Congressman Frank’s Bill is one of four which are currently seeking a relaxation of gambling laws in the United States.
The others are Congressman Robert Wexler's HR 2610, the Skill Games Protection Act; Congresswoman Shelley Berkley's H.R. 2410, which calls for a study of Internet Gaming, and Congressman McDermott's H.R. 2607, which amends H.R. 2610.
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