Frank Says Liberty the Core of Online Gambling Issue

Barney Frank says the simple principle of freedom drives his desire to pass his bill proposing regulation of online gambling.

Speaking in defense of his recently proposed legislation to regulate and license online gambling sites, Barney Frank noted that the real question in the debate is what value to put on liberty. Frank pointed out that not making Internet gaming illegal is not the same as saying that everyone should play, but rather that everyone should choose for themselves.

Frank asserts that, despite modern trends to continually grow the bureaucracy and increase governmental involvement, there are activities that the government should not be promoting nor prohibiting.

“Most actions the government should stay out of,” Frank said.

Frank has pushed the new bill as a stand-alone measure, refusing to sneak it into law the way the UIGEA ban was passed as a last second amendment to an eight-hundred page port security act. He says that kind of legislating is unfair to US citizens.

“Congress kind of sneaked up on the American people,” said Frank of the online gambling ban. “The people woke up.”

Frank's bill and a companion measure would effectively repeal the UIGEA. Authority to regulate and license online casinos would fall to the Department of the Treasury. Accounting studies have shown that not only would personal freedom be served by the bill, but the US could enjoy billions in annual tax revenue from a regulated Internet casino industry.