Bet From Anywhere Blog » Jon Kyl http://www.betfromanywhere.com/blog Legal Internet Gambling, Sports Betting and Skill Based Gaming. Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:52:58 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Department of Justice Decision on Internet Gambling May Force Congress’s Hand http://www.betfromanywhere.com/blog/department-justice-decision-internet-gambling-force-congresss-hand/ http://www.betfromanywhere.com/blog/department-justice-decision-internet-gambling-force-congresss-hand/#comments Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:10:35 +0000 admin http://www.betfromanywhere.com/blog/?p=248 A Justice Department memo last month that cleared the way for states to legalize online poker and lotteries makes it more important than ever for Congress to clear up the issue on a federal level, supporters of legislation say.

Supporters of legalizing online poker cheered the ruling but said it may create confusion and encourage the creation of a patchwork of state Internet gambling rules. Congress passed legislation in 2006 aimed at barring online gambling in the United States by prohibiting financial institutions from processing payments for online bets.

“I think that this ruling creates more confusion than clarity in the Internet gambling debate,” American Gaming Association President and CEO Frank Fahrenkopf  told National Journal in an interview.

Critics of the 2006 law say it has not prevented Americans from gambling online. Many Americans continue to gamble on websites based outside the United States, a situation that deprives U.S. players of consumer protections and state and federal governments of tax revenues, said John Pappas, executive director of the Poker Players Alliance. Pappas and others say Congress needs to step in with federal online poker legislation.

Both Pappas’ group and the American Gaming Association favor legislation that would legalize and regulate online poker. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, introduced a bill last year, though Fahrenkopf’s group has not taken a formal stand on it. Supporters say poker is a game of skill and can be more easily regulated online than other forms of Internet gambling.

Barton said while the Justice memo makes clear that playing poke online does not violate the Wire Act, the department’s interpretation of the law could lead states to adopt a variety of individual laws.

“If Congress doesn’t act soon we could end up with fractured rules and regulations that vary state to state, leaving more opportunity for fraud and fewer safeguards for players,” Barton, a senior member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, said in a statement. “I plan to keep moving forward with my efforts to move H.R. 2366 through the committee process, and I am confident it will be passed by the House and Senate – hopefully in this session.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., also is reportedly working on online poker legislation and has been aiming to gain the support of Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., who helped craft the 2006 anti-gambling law, according to industry sources and news reports. Spokesmen for both Reid and Kyl did not respond to requests for comment.

The Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade has held two hearings on Internet gambling and is likely to hold at least one more to gather additional feedback from the Justice Department and other officials on the issue. A spokesman for subcommittee Chairwoman Mary Bono Mack, R-Calif., said she has not made up her mind whether she will support Barton’s bill, which must go through her panel.

]]> http://www.betfromanywhere.com/blog/department-justice-decision-internet-gambling-force-congresss-hand/feed/ 0 Some US Politicians Push to Keep Internet Gambling Ban http://www.betfromanywhere.com/blog/some-us-politicians-push-to-keep-internet-gambling-ban/ http://www.betfromanywhere.com/blog/some-us-politicians-push-to-keep-internet-gambling-ban/#comments Sun, 04 May 2008 02:33:52 +0000 admin http://www.betfromanywhere.com/blog/some-us-politicians-push-to-keep-internet-gambling-ban/ US. Senator Jon Kyl, (R-Ariz), says he is growing impatient with the slow progress in coming up with regulations on Internet gambling in the United States.

Kyl, who has been pushing for a ban on Internet gambling, says slow progress on the part of the government and the Federal Reserve is part of the problem, along with a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives that would block enforcement of any regulations.

“The people who are violating the law need to know that they’re not going to be able to get away with it and I think that the failure to get these regulations promulgated on time has perhaps given some hope and it’s given life even to an idea over in the House of Representatives to put a moratorium on the regulations,” Kyl told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Kyl warned that the ease of online access will only exasperate the troubles caused by compulsive gambling. The newspaper said that federal officials have said the slow progress in crafting a ban is due in part to the lack of a definition of illegal Internet gambling. There are also doubts that Internet gambling could be fully curbed.

It’s funny, as more and more politicians realize that internet gambling needs to be regulated, and not banned some are still screaming about ‘Save the Children’ and want it banned. Keep in mind, that Senator Kyl is arguing to continue the ban after the financial firms and the banks, at a Congressional hearing spoke about the burned trying to stop internet gambling has put on them.

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