H.R. 5767 is dead…What’s next?

With the H.R. 5767 bill demise in the House Financial Services Committee a few days ago, many online poker players and sportsbetting fans are probably wondering if this is the end of road for the online gaming supporters. The answer to that question is not as simple as saying “yes” or “no”, it would been great to force the federal government to define exactly what constitutes online gambling, unfortunately the House Financial Services Committee doesn’t see it that way and instead of clearing the field for the necessary discussion on what can be considered online gambling, the Committee preferred to finish the discursion and kick the online poker and gaming supporters in the groin.

Even when several representatives of the banks who spoke during the UIGEA hearings, as well as representatives from the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve Board, continually asked the members of Congress to clarify the UIGEA’s mention of “illegal online gambling” the members declined. The UIGEA force all banks and funding companies to identify and block all the “illegal online gambling transactions”, but neither the proposed rules as written by the U.S. Treasury Department and Federal Reserve Board nor the UIGEA bill describe accurately what type of transactions the banks should block. On the other hand, online poker and sports betting supporters claim that without a precise definition of “online gambling” banks will have no option but becoming excessively cautious and stop not only the obvious gambling transactions to online casinos but also all the “suspicious” transfers, including online poker transactions.

But even when the H.R. 5767 is dead and buried, there are four Congressional bills that could open new doors for a possible solution and amendment to the UIGEA. The bills are:

H.R. 2046 - Introduced by Rep. Frank April 26, 2007, and also called the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act of 2007, this bill would give states the power to decide individually whether or not they want to allow online gambling. It’s currently in the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection with 48 cosponsors.

H.R. 2140 - Introduced by Rep. Shelley Berkley (NV) May 3, 2007, this bill calls for the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a study in order to identify the proper response of the United States to the growth of Internet gambling. It remains in the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. It has 73 cosponsors.

H.R. 2610 - Introduced by Rep. Robert Wexler (FL) June 7, 2007, this bill calls for certain games, poker included, to be legally defined as games of skill. If passed, poker, as an official skill game, would be exempted from the UIGEA. It remains in the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security with 22 cosponsors.

H.R. 2607 - Introduced by Rep. Jim McDermott June 7, 2007, this bill would change the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to regulate Internet gambling. It has one cosponsor and remains in House Committee on Ways and Means.

A list of the Congress members who make up the House Financial Services Committee can be found at http://financialservices.house.gov/who.html. This page includes links to the member's homepages where poker players can easily contact them, if so desired.