Frank Gambling Bills Update from the USA

The battle to overturn anti-online gambling legislation in the United States is gathering steam, with Congressman Barney Frank's proposed legislation gaining its 59th and 60th co-sponsors.

Bennie Thompson (D - Mississippi) and Adam Smith (D - Washington) both signed up last Thursday for Frank's bills, HR 2267 and HR 2266, which he introduced as part of the push to overturn the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), which effectively banned Internet gambling in the United States.

Hearings on the legislation have been delayed for some time, but are still expected to come up in Congress in October.

Another Delay
Also last week, Frank, New York Republican Peter King and 15 other lawmakers from both sides of politics sent a letter to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geitner, urging them to delay the December 1 enforcement of the UIGEA.

The legislators declared in the letter that the UIGEA has fundamental flaws, writing: "We also believe this is an unreasonable burden on regulators and the financial services industry at a time of economic crisis."

The lawmakers called for a delay of one year before UIGEA goes into effect - enough time for them to overturn it through Frank's proposed legislation.