‘Frank’ Disagreement Over Online Gambling
Posted by thelamp on March 24, 2007
U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., informed several news outlets last week that he plans to introduce legislation to roll back the federal ban on Internet gambling. Outrageous!
Last year, Congress passed and President Bush signed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, a prohibition on Internet gaming Web sites. This law outlaws financial gaming transactions, effectively making it illegal for American citizens to gamble online – even if the servers running the gambling site are located in another country. The Center for Moral Clarity supports this ban, and Pastor Rod Parsley, CMC’s founder and president, has urged President Bush to oppose the expansion of gambling – whether it is on the Internet, through state lotteries or the introduction of table games at race tracks.
“Gambling hurts families. It’s addictive and a misuse of important resources that could be better spent on debt reduction, education or even family-friendly recreation,” said Pastor Rod Parsley. “As a pastor, I’ve counseled people who were addicted to this awful habit and I can tell you, like pornography or drugs, it is something that can tear a family apart.”
So what’s Frank’s problem with the Internet gambling ban? It was too successful. The immediate impact of this legislation on offshore operators was overwhelming: online gaming businesses listed on the London stock exchange lost more than $7 billion in market capitalization in a single day – the day after Congress passed the bill.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Frank described the ban as “preposterous” and said it was one of the “stupidest” pieces of legislation ever passed.
The president and his administration are now tasked with ensuring strong and effective implementation of the law’s regulations. U.S. prosecutors have launched a probe into Internet gambling. The U.S. Department of Justice has demanded information from some of the world’s biggest investment banks as part of the investigation.
Yet Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, wants to halt the progress. Clearly, there’s no reason to turn back now.
Source: www.centerformoralclarity.net
online Poker gamer said
I realy feel for the gamblers in the US. I cant beleive your Congress banned all banks and credit card companies from accepting transactions from online gambling sites which makes you unable to play online poker. What a bunch of hypocrites your state government are. They have the largest gambling operations with lotto, keno, etc. If they truly believed their rhetoric about internet gambling they would cut out the state operations also. And now they are bringing in a law to legalise slot machines. Personally I would have a big grudge against any party that stopped me from playing online
poker. I think there must be some way for you guys to get around this problem. Must make you wonder if you are living in the land of the free when it seems the government has full control on what it will and wont let you do.