Frank Online Gambling Bill Not Likely to See 2009 Review
After missing several previous self-imposed target dates, Barney Frank has admitted his bill to regulate and license online gambling sites probably will be put aside until October at the earliest. Some Congressional observers say the bill will have to be relegated to legislation to be taken up after the New Year.
The problem is that, as head of the House Financial Services Committee, Frank's first commitment is to the legislation being discussed to deal with the economic crisis. While Frank has sworn that he will not let the bill die, the current focus of lawmakers is on health care, cap-and-trade, and financial regulatory proposals.
Frank had said the bill would be reviewed in his committee by Easter, then adjusted the likely date to around the Fourth of July. The Poker Players Alliance arranged National Poker Week to draw public attention to the bill, and invited thousands of poker players to Washington to show legislators support for the Frank measure, only to find another postponement waiting for them.
During the World Series of Poker, Frank allowed that legislative priorities and backlog meant the bill probably wouldn't reach committee until September.
"The feedback we got was that it's unlikely that we will hold a hearing in September; however, the door is not closed on that," said Poker Players Alliance head John Pappas about the online gambling measure.
Pappas said his group still hopes to advance the Reasonable Prudence in Regulation Act, another Frank bill. This proposal would push back any implementation of the UIGEA from December 1st of this year to the same date in 2010.
