[FONT=arial,geneva,helve,sans-serif]Gambling Bills Stall or Fall Short[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,geneva,helve,sans-serif]by Pete Winn, associate editor[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,geneva,helve,sans-serif]Anonymous hold blocks bill to curb online wagering.
<TABLE align=left border=0 cellpaddng="5"><TBODY><TR><TD><CENTER></CENTER></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Legislation to ban online gambling has stalled — and a bill to crack down on Indian casinos being placed on non-Indian land has been severely weakened, watered down to the point of near meaninglessness.
Sources in Congress say as things stand now, the Internet-gambling bill, sponsored by Reps. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., and Jim Leach, R-Iowa, is unlikely to pass the Senate before the summer recess begins Aug. 7.
Chad Hills, analyst for gambling issues at Focus on the Family Action, said anonymous members of the Senate have been trying to stymie H.R. 4411, which passed the House earlier this month.
"We've been trying to get this bill through the Senate before it recesses," Hills said. "We're hearing now that it may be stalled — and won't be considered."
<TABLE align=right border=0 cellpaddng="0"><TBODY><TR><TD><CENTER></CENTER></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>The bill would prohibit most forms of Internet gambling — including gambling using wireless technology — and would make it illegal for banks and credit-card companies to issue payments to online gambling Web sites.
Someone is anonymously trying to "deep six" the bill, according to Brian Newell of the Family Research Council. Unless the Senate leadership makes the bill a priority, it is unlikely to fare any better than previous incarnations.
"It's disconcerting to see that there are Republicans in the Senate that are putting this anonymous hold on the bill," he told Family News in Focus. "We would hope that the member that has objections to this would come forward and we could work them out."
(This is a partial reprint of the original article)
[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,geneva,helve,sans-serif]by Pete Winn, associate editor[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,geneva,helve,sans-serif]Anonymous hold blocks bill to curb online wagering.
<TABLE align=left border=0 cellpaddng="5"><TBODY><TR><TD><CENTER></CENTER></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Legislation to ban online gambling has stalled — and a bill to crack down on Indian casinos being placed on non-Indian land has been severely weakened, watered down to the point of near meaninglessness.
Sources in Congress say as things stand now, the Internet-gambling bill, sponsored by Reps. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., and Jim Leach, R-Iowa, is unlikely to pass the Senate before the summer recess begins Aug. 7.
Chad Hills, analyst for gambling issues at Focus on the Family Action, said anonymous members of the Senate have been trying to stymie H.R. 4411, which passed the House earlier this month.
"We've been trying to get this bill through the Senate before it recesses," Hills said. "We're hearing now that it may be stalled — and won't be considered."
<TABLE align=right border=0 cellpaddng="0"><TBODY><TR><TD><CENTER></CENTER></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>The bill would prohibit most forms of Internet gambling — including gambling using wireless technology — and would make it illegal for banks and credit-card companies to issue payments to online gambling Web sites.
Someone is anonymously trying to "deep six" the bill, according to Brian Newell of the Family Research Council. Unless the Senate leadership makes the bill a priority, it is unlikely to fare any better than previous incarnations.
"It's disconcerting to see that there are Republicans in the Senate that are putting this anonymous hold on the bill," he told Family News in Focus. "We would hope that the member that has objections to this would come forward and we could work them out."
(This is a partial reprint of the original article)
[/FONT]