US Congressional Hearing to Block UIGEA scheduled for today

The US House of Representatives has a hearing scheduled for today about HR 5767, the bill that was proposed in 2006 by Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts and Sen. Ron Paul of Texas, to block implementation of the regulations under the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006.

The implementation of that act has been under scrutiny because the language used in the bill was deemed ‘unworkable, not to mention the strong resistance of US Banks who are unclear of what actually must be done and to whom under this bill. The phrase ‘unlawful internet gambling’ was never been clearly defined within the bill and leaves interpretation very wide. An amendment to HR 5767 is calling for a workable definition of that phrase, since the current language comes from the Wire Act of 1961 outdating the internet.

Today’s hearing will be held by the Financial Services Committee that is chaired by Rep. Frank. That same committee heard testimony this year in regards to online gambling, including testimony from experts within the industry that exposed the misleading nature of HR 5767. Supporting the amending of the bill is the Poker Players Alliance, who called on their almost 1 million members to contact their local legislature to asking for support. On the other side of this fight is the Focus on the Family organization who call the proposal ‘a dangerous gambling bill’.

PokerNewsToday.com will update further as this proposal moves forward.

News Added: 24 June, 2008

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