Senator D'Amato Says Online Gambling Bill Has Bipartisan Backing
A former US Senator has repudiated reports that Barney Frank's upcoming bill seeking to regulate online gambling will have a tough time getting support in Congress. Alphonse D'Amato, Republican ex-Senator from New York, wrote a letter saying that, in his expert analysis, both conservatives and liberals will back the Internet casino bill in a bipartisan effort.An article in The Hill had suggested that the measure would become yet another piece of legislation to be bogged down by party politics, with social conservatives fighting the move. But D'Amato responds that, as a Republican, he expects votes from both sides of the aisle to push the Internet gambling proposal.
D'Amato is chairman of the Poker Players Alliance, and says that conservatives will support Frank's bill both for libertarian reasons and to effectively protect children and problem gamblers. He notes that the UIGEA was intended to achieve such consumer protection, but has proved unenforceable and ineffective.
D'Amato is only one of several prominent Republicans who have actively pushed for regulation and licensing of online gambling sites. Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, currently chairman of FreedomWorks, has vocally called for an end to the Internet gaming prohibition. Representative Pete Sessions of Texas tried to push through his own bill forcing clarification of the UIGEA last year.
D'Amato points out that the concept of allowing Internet gambling is directly aligned with conservative positions on Internet freedom, small government, and personal responsibility. He says Congress is prepared to do the right thing, not the political thing.
"That means protecting Internet freedom and the public interest through taxation, licensing and regulation — not prohibition," says D'Amato.
