While Rep. Barney Frank’s bill to overturn an Internet gambling ban seems to have stalled in Congress, (I thought we ran congress!?!) he told the Las Vegas Review Journal this week that pressure from foreign countries could help breathe new life into the legislation.
Initially he said it would be up to gamblers to push the effort to get the bill passed,
but he also said international pressures could also move the bill along faster.
“If the European Union gets into the WTO (World Trade Organization) thing,
that’s a lot more pressure,” he said.
The WTO has ruled on more than one occasion that the online gambling ban in the United States violates international trade agreements the nation agreed to when it joined the organization. The US replied, “We don’t have to abide by treaties.”
The U.S. has two choices to comply with the current agreements. It can either legalize the industry or it can outlaw all forms of online gambling. Currently it allows online horse race betting and online state lotteries.
Bart says: So gambling is OK, as long as it’s not poker?