Democrat says expect online gambling bill Thursday

(X-post from General board)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank on Wednesday said he will introduce a bill this week to lift a ban on online gambling.

"Why anyone thinks it is any of my business why some adult wants to gamble is absolutely beyond me," Frank told a community bankers group conference.

Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, said he will introduce the legislation on Thursday.

Internet gambling in the United States was effectively banned last October when President George W. Bush signed legislation outlawing gaming financial transactions.

The ban irked some in the European Union, which is home to online gambling companies that were forced to withdraw from the United States.

Are you still tired of having your rights trampled on by grandstanding politicians? I am!! Let's continue the fight.

Primary Actions:

0. (new) If you wish to gamble online, may wish to have the right to gamble in the future, or simply wish to speak out for freedom, PLEASE CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVE AND SENATORS THIS WEEK and ask them to support Frank's bill. He'll introduce it the morning of 4/26, so it will have a number on it before lunch. Thanks!

1. Let's join the WSEX action plan this week and next. It's good that the sites are fighting back, so we should support that, I think. When writing these letters, I think we'll want to be careful to tailor them to the specific representatives and senators, of course (based on their opinions of the WTO).

Quote:

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This email is being sent to all World Sports Exchange customers as a courtesy to the Antigua Online Gaming Association.

Greetings Players,

As you may be aware, online gaming has been under attack by the United States for the last decade. The Government of Antigua and Barbuda has successfully challenged the malicious prosecution of Antiguan operators in the World Trade Organization. The WTO has found that the US's application of its laws against Antiguan entities is protectionist and in violation of the General Agreement on Trade in Services.

Now that Antigua has won the legal battle, it can use political support in Congress. Here's how you can help. Please email and phone your Representative in the House of Representatives and your two Senators. Remind them that the United States needs to abide by the decision in the Antigua-Gaming matter if they expect other countries to comply with WTO decisions in favor of the United States.

Here is a link to a letter to the USTR from Representative Ros-Lehtinen, the ranking Republican on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs:

www.antiguawto.com/LettertoUSTR.pdf

Rep. Ros-Lehtinen eloquently noted, "...our failure to resolve this dispute may harm our credibility as we seek to press countries like China regarding their violations on a range of issues, including intellectual property protection, subsidies, and currency manipulation." She further warned, "In the event the United States fails to reach a satisfactory resolution of the Antigua dispute, it could provide China with an argument to ignore a WTO decision favorable to the United States."

Please send the link above to your Representative and Senators. Ask them to send similar letters to the United States Trade Representative. Let them know you vote, you pay taxes, and you think the United States should comply with the decision in the Antigua-Gaming matter.

To contact your Representative and two Senators, follow the links below or call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and give them your zip code. Make sure you call three times.

www.house.gov and www.senate.gov

We will continue to fight the legal battle, please help us with the political fight.

Thank you,

Antigua Online Gaming Association
www.aoga.ag />

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April 25, 2007

Senator Jon Kyl
United States Senate
730 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Senator Kyl:

I�ve been following your efforts to restrict the ability of Americans to choose play Internet poker and other casino games in the privacy of their own homes. I�d like to share with you my humble opinion on the matter.

By way of introduction, I�m an engineer with one of the nation�s larger companies. After a long day at work, I enjoy playing a little poker on occasion, and I prefer playing in the comfort of my own home with my wife at my side to playing in a smoky casino. I happen to be skilled enough at the game to win significantly more than I lose, but that�s not really the point. Poker is an enjoyable game of skill, much as golfing or fishing. In fact, poker is one of the great American pastimes. Presidents, generals, Supreme Court Justices, members of Congress and average Americans have enjoyed the game for more than 150 years. It�s an honorable game.

As a fellow Republican, I share some of the concerns you�ve mentioned about online gambling. However, it�s not obvious that federal laws restricting our freedoms and liberties will solve these issues. After all, online gambling will continue internationally. In fact, the WTO has recently ruled the U.S. violated international trade law by prosecuting online gambling cases. As such, I urge you to support legalization with regulation, rather than prohibition. A regulated Internet gambling environment will facilitate age verification and collection of federal and state taxes. It will also reduce any potential vulnerability of gambling websites to being used for money laundering, drug trafficking, or terrorist financing. With regulation, potential problems can be controlled without taking freedoms from Americans. After all, Russians and Eastern Europeans can gamble online; it seems the U.S. should trust its citizens at least as much as Russia trusts theirs, right?

On the topic of freedom, it seems the Republican Party has chosen to be the party of social conservatism only. The party now supports big, powerful government as long as it promotes the party�s social agenda. As such, it appears limited-government Goldwater/Reagan Republicans like myself are no longer welcome in the party. However, without us, it�s hard to see how the Republican Party can win in the West (or anywhere but the South). Do you like being in the minority, as you are today? What about when a libertarian-conservative Democrat runs against you on a platform of a smaller federal government? Ironic (at least at one time), but very foreseeable now. As an aside, when that does happen, the way things stand now he�ll likely receive a lot of donations from poker players around the nation. Also, many younger voters will wake up and turn out like they did against Rep. Leach.

Proponents of online gambling prohibition often mention endorsements UGIEA received from some in the religious community, some family groups, some financial services groups and some professional sports organizations. I hope you�ll consider the fact that these groups do not necessarily represent the majority of voters in our nation (or even the majority of Arizona Republicans). As for religious and family groups, there is no prohibition against gambling in the Bible. As a Christian, I personally find it offensive that so many so-called religious folks are willing to give away our freedoms, especially in pursuit of a goal not even defined in the Bible. As for financial services groups, some credit card issuers may like UIGEA (due only to the risk of losing players refusing to pay up), but I don�t believe banks wish to be the enforcers of UIGEA. As a result, I think you�ll find financial services groups to be net losers as a result of UIGEA. Finally, I believe the concerns of the major professional sports organizations relate only to sports betting. A regulated online gaming environment can address that concern.

Online gaming will continue to exist with or without the participation of the United States. We�re losing our opportunity to control the games via regulation as well as the opportunities for U.S. companies to operate the games both domestically and internationally. This is costing America jobs and tax revenue.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

TheEngineer

We can contact the majority (Democrat) and minority (Republican) offices of the Subcommittee...see the link below for contact info.

P.T. Barnum was talking about people just like you!

Check came last Thursday, in the form of HR 2046, on time and in full.

Thanks for your input, though.

"P.T. Barnum was talking about people just like you!"

Hmmm. How do I ask this politely? Uhh....I know how.... so, what the fuck do you mean by that, exactly?

"there's a sucker born every minute.."

-- P. T. Barnum

Mister Gorgon has snapped to your little scheme. So just spill and tell us all about this plot of yours to take advantage of us. Wes got da big picture, now wes wants da sordid details, like the numbered Swiss accounts and your co-conspirators.

Or just maybe the gentlemen has missed his medication and is feeling somewhat paranoid.