Frank to Reveal Online Casino Bill Wednesday
A few false starts were caused by the roiling financial conditions in the US, but the new proposal by Representative Barney Frank to regulate online casinos will be introduced tomorrow. Frank said today in a statement that he will finally disclose the much-anticipated online gambling bill on Wednesday.
Frank had said earlier in the year he hoped to bring the measure public first in March, then mid-April. But addressing the economic crisis as chairman of the House Financial Services Committee kept Frank occupied, delaying the less-urgent gaming proposal until now.
Current findings by Harvard Medical School about the relative mildness of addictive dangers inherent in Internet gaming will blunt much of the opposition's attack. Christian groups have argued that minors and addictive personalities would be at risk if online gambling were allowed, but evidence has shown that to be a misconception.
"Rather than tell Americans what they can and cannot do online in the privacy of their homes, Chairman Frank's approach to regulate Internet gambling would protect consumers and allow the U.S. to generate billions in new revenue to fund critical government programs," said Jeffrey Sandman of the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative.
"I don't know that a tremendous amount has changed from Congress to Congress, but there is increasing pressure on the U.S. from our trading partners (in the European Union)," said a spokesman for Representative Shelley Berkley.
