CDR: Wired News : Net Gambling Ban Not Dead Yet

mike mikefreeman at hushmail.com
Tue Sep 26 11:30:32 PDT 2000


A note from mike:

   i had an idea a few weeks ago about using digital money  or e-gold for casinos. if this goes through then it looks like thats what people might do then.

============================================================

 From Wired News, available online at:
http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,39048,00.html

Net Gambling Ban Not Dead Yet  
by Declan McCullagh  

3:00 a.m. Sep. 26, 2000 PDT 

If you like to gamble online, your luck may be about to change for the
worse.  

House Republicans are in the middle of closed-door negotiations over a
bill that appears likely to restrict Americans from using credit cards
at online casinos.  

After the House failed to approve the original Internet Gambling
Prohibition Act in July, its champion, Rep. Bob Goodlatte
(R-Virginia), has been rewriting it in hopes of attracting additional
support.  

The proposal "says that no money orders or checks or credit cards can
be used in an Internet gambling transaction," says Michelle Semones, a
spokeswoman for Goodlatte. "If you take away that convenience of using
your credit card, you'll lose a lot of customers there."  

Goodlatte's original legislation failed to reach the necessary
two-thirds supermajority because it morphed from a straightforward
gambling ban into a way for special interest groups to win exceptions.


Some conservative groups pulled their support after horse racing, dog
tracks, and jai alai lobbyists inserted language that would have, if
anything, expanded their reach online.  

Another controversial point was a requirement that Internet service
providers "block access" to overseas websites when requested by
police.  

That verges on being Internet regulation, says the powerful chairman
of the House Rules Committee, David Dreier (R-California), who
objected to such a requirement.  

"Chairman Dreier has some concerns regarding the ISP provisions," a
spokesman said. "That's primarily the reason he opposed the bill while
it was on the floor earlier this year. He's working with the sponsors
of the bill to see if those concerns can be addressed."  

But that change would make it difficult for the U.S. government to
block access to offshore websites. As an alternative, Goodlatte says,
financial institutions should become de-facto Internet police by
restricting credit card transactions going to offshore casinos.  

Goodlatte's office said he would consider using language from a
related bill, the Internet Gambling Funding Prohibition Act, approved
by the House Banking Committee in June.   
Because conservative groups are split between supporting and opposing
Goodlatte's bill, the House leadership reportedly blocked the measure
from going to the House floor again this year. The Clinton
administration opposes it.  

In response, Goodlatte and his Senate ally, Jon Kyl (R-Arizona), went
on the attack.  

The duo showed up on James Dobson's popular Focus on the Family radio
show and denounced Republican leaders as obstructionist and overly
reliant on campaign contributions from the gambling industry.  

"It would be very, very helpful for our listeners to make calls to the
Republican leadership. I am just sick about what the Republican
leadership is doing," Dobson said during the Sept. 8 program.  

Kyl complained that Rules Chairman Dreier "feels as though it's his
responsibility to protect the Internet at all costs."  

Goodlatte replied: "These are folks, primarily lottery companies, that
stand to make tens of millions of dollars if they can start selling
lottery tickets online, in people's homes, which I think is horrible."


The on-the-air offensive worked. The next day, Capitol Hill
switchboards were ringing off the hook with calls from irate
conservatives, and Goodlatte soon got what he wanted from Republican
leaders.  

"The leadership has requested that Mr. Dreier and Mr. Goodlatte sit
down to work out a compromise," said one lobbyist opposed to the bill.
"They are very close to an agreement."  

Another lobbyist close to the Republican leadership said that Dreier
wants Goodlatte to guarantee, with a letter from 40 Democrats, that
they'll support the bill.  

Lisa Dean, vice president of the conservative Free Congress
Foundation, says that "we're not so sure that Goodlatte has the votes
he says he has."  

Dean, who opposes the bill, likened it to the abandoned "Know Your
Customer" proposal that would have required banks to increase
surveillance of their customers.  

"If members in the House knew there was a Know Your Customer provision
in this bill, they wouldn't vote for it, given last year's backlash
against the Know Your Customer proposal from the federal banking
agencies," Dean said. "If people knew this had been slipped in, they
wouldn't vote for it."  

The bill could go to the House floor for a vote this week or next.  

Since the identical version hasn't been approved by the Senate, a vote
in that chamber would be required. Another option would be for the
measure's backers to attach it to an appropriations bill.   

Related Wired Links:  

Tapping Into Porn  
Jul. 13, 2000 

GOP Wants No Net Bets  
Jul. 13, 2000 

Gambling Regs, Gambling Judges  
Jun. 21, 2000 

Net Gambling Bill Seen as Risky  
Jun. 21, 2000 

Aussies' Online Gaming Debate  
May. 31, 2000 

Let Us Play Poker and Swear  
Apr. 26, 2000 

Net Tobacco a Smoking Issue  
Apr. 4, 2000 

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