Confirmation Or Rep. Barney Frank Working On Repealing The Gamb Act?

[LITTLEPOPPA 0]

UIGEA NEWS ALERT The office of US Congressman Barney Frank, who is chairman of the House financial services committee, has confirmed that he is currently working on legislation to repeal the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. The news item appeared this afternoon on the Financial Times website and has been confirmed to eGaming Review by Frank’s press department. The details of how any repeal would take action have not been worked out and no timeframe was given. Frank is quoted as describing last autumn’s Act as one of the “stupidest laws” ever passed and adds: “I am working on legislation to cut back on this internet gambling thing… I think it’s preposterous”. While rumours of Barney Frank’s support for a repeal of the Act had been circulating around the egaming industry in the past few weeks, Frank himself had not confirmed or commented on them. Shares in PartyGaming, 888 and Sportingbet were all up this afternoon. The FT says the mid-term Democratic victory in the US Congress brought some hope to the online gaming sector and John Conyers, chairman of the House judiciary committee, is also considered sympathetic to the industry. But while Frank and Conyers are “powerful potential allies, it is far from clear that the lawmakers would have enough support to pass any meaningful legislation” because it is not clear “whether the votes would be there for a regulatory bill”. The FT adds that the US treasury is currently drafting the rules to implement the Act but that the deadline for presenting them has been missed and is now expected in April or May.

[handsfactor 0]

If he gets this done, we may have to pimp out any gay members of the forum to him. Ron Mexico was offering people head in another thread, I'm sure he'll be first in line

[No_Neck 0]

UIGEA NEWS ALERT The office of US Congressman Barney Frank, who is chairman of the House financial services committee, has confirmed that he is currently working on legislation to repeal the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. The news item appeared this afternoon on the Financial Times website and has been confirmed to eGaming Review by Frank’s press department. The details of how any repeal would take action have not been worked out and no timeframe was given. Frank is quoted as describing last autumn’s Act as one of the “stupidest laws” ever passed and adds: “I am working on legislation to cut back on this internet gambling thing… I think it’s preposterous”. While rumours of Barney Frank’s support for a repeal of the Act had been circulating around the egaming industry in the past few weeks, Frank himself had not confirmed or commented on them. Shares in PartyGaming, 888 and Sportingbet were all up this afternoon. The FT says the mid-term Democratic victory in the US Congress brought some hope to the online gaming sector and John Conyers, chairman of the House judiciary committee, is also considered sympathetic to the industry. But while Frank and Conyers are “powerful potential allies, it is far from clear that the lawmakers would have enough support to pass any meaningful legislation” because it is not clear “whether the votes would be there for a regulatory bill”. The FT adds that the US treasury is currently drafting the rules to implement the Act but that the deadline for presenting them has been missed and is now expected in April or May.

Great news, it would be awesome to see a Democrat from MA get the bill repealed while the Republicans turn the United States into Jesusland.O how the times are changing.I think this pic is funny.

[JesseW316 0]

I'm in that line, you're a good man Barney Frank

[WowThats 0]

A new bill going to pass in my humble opinion I do think the Casinos will be the companies offering service and not companies like FT, UB, PP and so on. This change I would support.

[LITTLEPOPPA 0]

here is another articleSeveral media outlets are reporting that Senator Barney Frank could be working on a bill that would repeal the UIGEA and also that charges may be dropped against Neteller directors John Lefebvre and Stephen Lawrence. Below is some key quotes from a few media reports today. March 14 (Bloomberg ) -- Online-gambling stocks rose after the Financial Times said House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank wants to repeal a law passed last year that criminalized the industry. Shares of Gibraltar-based PartyGaming Plc, the world's biggest Internet poker operator, had their biggest gain in 15 months. Shares of 888 Holdings Plc and SportingBet Plc also advanced in London. ``I am working on legislation to cut back on this Internet gambling thing,'' the FT cited Frank as saying on its Web site, referring to last year's law. ``I think it's preposterous,'' and the law is one of the ``stupidest'' ever passed, the FT cited him as saying. ``Maybe we can make some money off it,' he added. Online-gaming stocks plummeted across Europe in October after Congress unexpectedly banned the collection of credit-card payments from gambling Web sites. ``The slightest indicator that operators may get business back in the U.S. is going to get speculators coming in,'' said Andrew French, a sales trader at E*Trade Securities in London. The Gaming Intelligence Group out of the UK reported the following; There is a great deal of expectation surrounding the online gaming industry these days with a spate of positive news to boost the sector. We have had strong earnings results from several publicly traded gaming companies, stocks are rising, advertising rules are relaxing (well in the UK at least), and now some positive murmurs from the US. Rumours have been growing surrounding the possibility that charges may be dropped against John Lefebvre and Stephen Lawrence, the former Neteller directors and the London Financial Times today reported on efforts by Barney Frank, the Democratic chairman of the House Financial Services Committee to repeal the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) which was passed by the US Congress last year. Congressman Frank has long been opposed to a ban on internet gambling and it is hoped that with a strengthened Democratic party on Capitol Hill, he may be able to push through changes which would at least soften the law. Speaking in Congress last year prior to the UIGEA, he responded to claims that online gaming contributes nothing to the US economy by stating, “Has it become the role of this Congress to prohibit any activity that an adult wants to engage in voluntarily if it doesn't add to the GDP or make us more competitive? What kind of socio-, cultural authoritarianism are we advocating here?” Addressing the moral argument, Mr. Frank went on to say “I agree there is a practice around today that causes a lot of problems, damages families, people lose their jobs, they get in debt. They do it to excess. It is called drinking. Are we going to go back to Prohibition? Prohibition didn't work for alcohol; it doesn't work for gambling.”

[LITTLEPOPPA 0]

bump

[LongLiveYorke 38]

A new bill going to pass in my humble opinion I do think the Casinos will be the companies offering service and not companies like FT, UB, PP and so on. This change I would support.

Your sig is one of the lamest jokes I've ever seen, and that says a lot.

[magnus72 0]

Your sig is one of the lamest jokes I've ever seen, and that says a lot.

Oh come on I thought it was pretty funny....and that doesn't say a lot.

[solderz 0]

Repeal of online gaming ban soughtBy Stephanie Kirchgaessner and Jeremy Grant in WashingtonThe Financial Times Limited 2007Published: March 14 2007 13:48Barney Frank, the Democratic chairman of the powerful House financial services committee, is working on legislation to repeal the sweeping ban that was passed in Congress last year against online gaming, he told the Financial Times in an interview.Mr Frank called the ban, formally known as the Unlawful Enforcement Gambling Act, one of the “stupidest laws” ever passed and said he wanted to “repeal” the law.“I am working on legislation to cut back on this internet gambling thing….I think it’s preposterous,” he said, adding that he was considering some “innovative ideas”.“I’m looking for ways, maybe we can make some money off of it,” he said, signalling that he could be considering a proposal that would make online gaming legal by both regulating - and taxing - the industry.Mr Frank declined to comment further on his proposal. A spokesman for the lawmaker said he had not yet drafted any legislation and was still at a “thinking stage”.“I am not ready to get into specifics yet. People have come to me with some ideas. Not Al D’Amato. ..and I’m looking at it,” Mr Frank told the FT at an event at the US Chamber of Commerce.Mr D’Amato, the former New York senator, was recently named chairman of the Poker Players Alliance, a lobby group that is fighting to legalise online poker.Hopes that the US ban might be overturned helped lift shares in UK-listed online gaming groups on Wednesday, with PartyGaming up nearly 10 per cent in a falling London market. Shares in 888 Holdings and Sportingbet were also higher.The Democratic victory in the Congress last year was an important victory for pro-gaming interests because Mr Frank, along with John Conyers, chairman of the House judiciary committee, are both considered sympathetic to the industry.They are understood to believe that the legislation passed last year went too far by putting restrictions on a hobby - gambling - that millions of Americans enjoy.However, while both Mr Frank and Mr Conyers represent powerful potential allies in the fight to roll back last year’s ban, which hit non-US gaming interests, particularly in the UK, it is far from clear that the lawmakers would have enough support to pass any meaningful legislation.One industry lobbyist yesterday expressed deep reservations about the possibility that the ban would be repealed.“Though the Democrats are in charge it is not clear that the votes would be there for a regulatory bill. Having Mr Frank and [John] Conyers [chairing congressional committees] is a positive development, but it doesn’t make it a slam dunk,” this person said.Mr D’Amato said in a recent interview with the FT that he believed Congress should create a regulatory structure to police the industry that would be funded by licensing fees.Separately, the industry is keeping a close eye on the US Treasury, which is currently drafting the regulations that will, in effect, implement last year’s ban. One lobbyist said that Treasury’s deadline to present the rules for public comment period had slipped and is not now expected until April or May.

[milojones 0]

figured id bump this post because well.. it makes me smile. ive always hated barney frank, however, this shows he has some sense. finally a democrat who actually does something.

[erac22 0]

figured id bump this post because well.. it makes me smile. ive always hated barney frank, however, this shows he has some sense. finally a democrat who actually does something.

Actually, he's trying to undo something. Politicians who "actually do things" tend to do things like go to war with Iraq and ban internet gambling. I wish more politicians would do nothing...