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Barney Frank Outlines New Online Poker Bill
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May 9 - Online poker fans may be one step closer to enjoying a legal and regulated internet gaming industry, after the Chairman of the US House Financial Services Committee revealed his proposed legislation to the public.
Barney Frank's HR 2267 (The Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act of 2009), has been long in the making and its launch date has been put off twice in the past so that its release could be timed to create the most effective impact.
The Act is the first attempt by legislators to counter the existing Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) during the Obama administration.
Frank also proposed a second act, HR 2266 (The Reasonable Prudence in Regulation Act), that would stop the government implementing the UIGEA at the end of the year. It would, instead, push the date off to December 2010 in order to buy some more time to try and get the industry onto a track of regulation.
While Frank's bill to legalize online poker has sufficient supporters to give many hope that it will pass this time round, nobody has illusions about how difficult the process ahead will be.
HR 2267 calls for gambling and poker operators to submit to strict vetting processes that will determine their criminal and credit histories. They would also be subject to taxation "as required by law". Licenses would be issued for a period of five years and can be renewed thereafter. Regulation of the industry means that the government would have the right to suspend or terminate a license as it sees fit.
The proposal specifically excludes sports betting from the Act and also outlines the consequences to be faced by anybody caught cheating online poker and casino sites, including jail terms and fines.
The PPA praised Frank's proposal and said: "Online poker is a legal, thriving industry and poker players deserve the consumer protections and the freedom to play that are provided for in this legislation."
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