House Clamps Down On Internet Gambling

The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a bill that supporters said would place considerable and needed restrictions on Internet gambling. Opponents called it political maneuvering ahead of the November election and said the bill is full of huge loopholes. Under the terms of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, restrictions would be placed on Internet service providers and on services that process financial transactions in their dealings with offshore gambling sites. Calling Internet gambling a “scourge,” Rep.

Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) said the bill is necessary to prevent the practice from growing to include not only PCs but also cell phones and other mobile devices. Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) noted that an exemption has been carved out of the bill for horse racing, betting on which would still be allowed online. Previous efforts to pass such legislation have died on the vine, including a bill passed by the House in 2003 that the Senate did not act on.

CNET, 11 July 2006