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In its push to ban Internet gambling the House committees that pushing Kyle's bill are showing off hard luck case...
The real message behind all this is that the US
is losing millions of tax dollars...
Who gives a rat's butt if you lose your money
gambling on the 'net or gambling on the stock market?
Can someone tell me the difference?????
Following up on last year's push to ban Internet
gambling, House lawmakers heard testimony from a self-described
"Internet gambling addict," a young John Doe who simply found the
ease with which he could log onto the Web and spend his parents'
savings too difficult to resist.
"I'll have to admit that gambling for real money from the luxury and
comfort of my own home was quite a rush," said Doe, an avid
gambler since the age of 14. "The convenience of online
gambling brought out an uncontrollable animal in me."
The hearing before the Judiciary's Subcommittee on Crime was a
carryover from last session, after the House voiced near
unanimous support for H.R. 3125, the Internet Gambling Prohibition
Act, introduced by Reps. Robert Goodlatte, R-Va., and Frank
LoBiondo, R-N.J. Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., disagreed with the bills'
core focus, saying it would not prohibit Internet gambling because
of exemptions for certain types of betting, as well as the
unintended effect that the legislation would have of simply
sending more gambling operations overseas. Scott insisted the
legislation should ban Internet gambling outright, instead of trying
to attack the growing business from a number of pressure points.
H.R. 3125, would prohibit all forms of online gaming, put convicted
online gambling proprietors in jail for up to four years, and levy a
$20,000 fine. The bill contains carve-outs, however, for
"closed-loop" services such as lotteries and dog or horseracing.
It does not seek to prosecute individuals, but rather focuses on
forcing Internet service providers (ISPs) to shut down sites that
offer online gambling. The bill also contains provisions to protect
ISPs from any liability, provided they comply with a request to
shut down offending sites.
Goodlatte's legislation would also seek to update antiquated
gambling rules that prohibit gambling over telephone wires. Since
more consumers are going online using broadband technologies
such as fiber optics and cable modems, H.R. 3125 would seek
to bring those modes of communications under restriction as well.
The legislation is similar to a bill of the same name proposed by
Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., S. 692, which the Senate passed last
year.
The Justice Department took issue with both bills, and asked
Congress not to try differentiating between different forms
of gambling or special "carve-outs" for particular types of
gambling. Deputy Assistant Attorney General Kevin DiGregory
reminded House lawmakers that a congressionally appointed
gambling commission already has recommended to Congress
that online gambling be banned outright.
Goodlatte told the committee he thought the differences
between the House and Senate bills were minor, and that he
thought the legislation had a good chance of passing this year.
Kyl said Congress needs to pass some form of legislation on
the matter before the online gaming industry gains a greater
foothold in the market. Kyl added that the Internet gambling
industry already pulls in an estimated $3 billion annually, with
that number expected to climb to more than $100 billion by the
end of the decade, if left unchecked.
Reported by Newsbytes.com, http://www.newsbytes.com
The real message behind all this is that the US
is losing millions of tax dollars...
Who gives a rat's butt if you lose your money
gambling on the 'net or gambling on the stock market?
Can someone tell me the difference?????
Following up on last year's push to ban Internet
gambling, House lawmakers heard testimony from a self-described
"Internet gambling addict," a young John Doe who simply found the
ease with which he could log onto the Web and spend his parents'
savings too difficult to resist.
"I'll have to admit that gambling for real money from the luxury and
comfort of my own home was quite a rush," said Doe, an avid
gambler since the age of 14. "The convenience of online
gambling brought out an uncontrollable animal in me."
The hearing before the Judiciary's Subcommittee on Crime was a
carryover from last session, after the House voiced near
unanimous support for H.R. 3125, the Internet Gambling Prohibition
Act, introduced by Reps. Robert Goodlatte, R-Va., and Frank
LoBiondo, R-N.J. Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., disagreed with the bills'
core focus, saying it would not prohibit Internet gambling because
of exemptions for certain types of betting, as well as the
unintended effect that the legislation would have of simply
sending more gambling operations overseas. Scott insisted the
legislation should ban Internet gambling outright, instead of trying
to attack the growing business from a number of pressure points.
H.R. 3125, would prohibit all forms of online gaming, put convicted
online gambling proprietors in jail for up to four years, and levy a
$20,000 fine. The bill contains carve-outs, however, for
"closed-loop" services such as lotteries and dog or horseracing.
It does not seek to prosecute individuals, but rather focuses on
forcing Internet service providers (ISPs) to shut down sites that
offer online gambling. The bill also contains provisions to protect
ISPs from any liability, provided they comply with a request to
shut down offending sites.
Goodlatte's legislation would also seek to update antiquated
gambling rules that prohibit gambling over telephone wires. Since
more consumers are going online using broadband technologies
such as fiber optics and cable modems, H.R. 3125 would seek
to bring those modes of communications under restriction as well.
The legislation is similar to a bill of the same name proposed by
Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., S. 692, which the Senate passed last
year.
The Justice Department took issue with both bills, and asked
Congress not to try differentiating between different forms
of gambling or special "carve-outs" for particular types of
gambling. Deputy Assistant Attorney General Kevin DiGregory
reminded House lawmakers that a congressionally appointed
gambling commission already has recommended to Congress
that online gambling be banned outright.
Goodlatte told the committee he thought the differences
between the House and Senate bills were minor, and that he
thought the legislation had a good chance of passing this year.
Kyl said Congress needs to pass some form of legislation on
the matter before the online gaming industry gains a greater
foothold in the market. Kyl added that the Internet gambling
industry already pulls in an estimated $3 billion annually, with
that number expected to climb to more than $100 billion by the
end of the decade, if left unchecked.
Reported by Newsbytes.com, http://www.newsbytes.com