Backdoor move to ban Web gambling fizzles

[MadJack]

Backdoor move to ban Web gambling fizzles

GOP leaders vow to continue prohibition push

By TONY BATT
STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU

Bill Frist
GOP senator tried to attach bet ban bill to defense measure


WASHINGTON -- Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., tried to attach an Internet gambling ban to a defense bill last week but was rebuffed by two powerful senators, congressional sources said Monday.

Despite the setback, advocates said GOP leaders will keep trying to add an online wagering prohibition to must-pass legislation until Congress adjourns this year.

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Frist approached Sen. John Warner, R-Va., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and asked him to add an Internet gambling ban to a defense authorization bill, according to congressional staffers who requested anonymity.

But after checking with Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan, the ranking Democrat on the committee, Warner rejected the idea because an online wagering ban would not be relevant to defense legislation.

A source close to Frist confirmed the majority leader made the proposal to Warner, but declined to elaborate.

After hearing of Frist's proposal, Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., sent Warner a letter urging him to reject any amendment that would ban online betting.

"We must not use this important (defense) bill as a convenient vehicle for political pet issues such as a ban on Internet gaming," Berkley said.

Berkley opposed an Internet gambling ban that passed the House 317-93 in July.

Although the Department of Justice has said Internet gambling is illegal, the $12 billion industry continues to grow, with more than 2,300 Web sites.

Frist, who has been mentioned as a potential presidential candidate in 2008, criticized online wagering during an August visit to Iowa.

While in Iowa, Frist joined Rep. Jim Leach, R-Iowa, one of the two main sponsors of the ban that passed the House, in conducting an informal field hearing critical of Internet gambling.

On Sept. 5, the day Congress returned from its August recess, Frist made a speech on the Senate floor and listed an Internet gambling ban as one of his priorities as Congress rushes toward adjournment. Frist's second term expires this year, and he is not running for re-election.

 

[AR182]

these hypocrits get me sick....they pick & choose what laws to enforce.

 

[Rcxslam]

same here AR....thanx for the updates MJ...

for some reason, I have been really concerned with this on going issue in the past year...

 

[acehistr8]

I wont say I told you so....

 

[sportsnut13]

I don't know but this seem simple to me let Vegas start Internet gambling sight in the U.S AND TAX THEM.:shrug: :shrug:

 

[MadJack]

isn't goodlatte from virginia?

isn't goodlatte from virginia?

what a goofball. how can he even have a straight face with his anti gambling bill?


Bill offers new form of gambling

Richmond Times-Dispatch Sep 18, 2006


Virginia could turn to some old-fashioned horsepower to bankroll hundreds of millions of dollars to improve the state's transportation system.

Under legislation filed separately by two lawmakers, Virginia would create a pari-mutuel game "Instant Racing"-- that horse racing aficionados could play at Colonial Downs and nine off-track betting parlors located around the state.

It would amend the state's pari-mutuel law to allow the game played on machines that look like ATMs featuring videos of past races. Video "rail birds" would have access to records of the horses, jockeys and trainers, but the bettor wouldn't know when or where the taped race occurred.

One analysis estimates that the game, once fully implemented over a few years, could generate from $660 million to $934 million annually, with almost half of the take turned over to deal with transportation woes. Arkansas has adopted the game. Del. Phillip A. Hamilton, R-Newport News, introduced the bill in the House, which along with the Senate will consider similar legislation when the General Assembly returns to Richmond Sept. 27 for a transportation session that may last four days.

"I'm saying it could raise several hundred million," Hamilton said in an interview yesterday. "My primary objective is to generate as much money as we can for transportation."

It appears that Hamilton and Sen. Thomas K. Norment, R-James City, the sponsor of the similar bill in the Senate, would face long odds in the legislature. Opponents have worried about expanding the state horse-betting operations, approved by voters in 1988. Returning legislators also would have little time to weigh the political implications of the new game.

"I haven't started working the bill," Hamilton said. "There's a little bit of concern from horse" breeders. They would receive only 2 percent of the profits and Colonial Downs would take away 49 percent. So far, the House and Senate have not even gotten out of the gate, much less finished the race to raise substantial new cash for transportation.

The governor and the Senate have proposed boosting some taxes and fees to deal with what they call a transportation crisis, but the House has adamantly opposed boosts in levies. It claims that improvements can be financed through existing dollars produced by a booming economy.

On another course, Hamilton also proposes hammering reckless drivers who cause accidents that result in significant delays on highways, bridges and tunnels.

In addition to any fines or jail time for reckless drivers, a judge shall impose a special traffic congestion fee on the driver not to exceed $10,000. The additional fee would be deposited in Virginia's Transportation Trust Fund and road building and maintenance.

 

[MadJack]

I wont say I told you so....

don't speak so soon.

this isn't looking good at all.

The saga continues, according to Congress Daily PM:

JUDICIARY
Frist Making Last-Minute Bid To Block Online Gambling
Senate Majority Leader Frist's bid to attach a rider to the defense authorization bill that would crack down on online gambling has picked up momentum after it was thought to be written off earlier this week. "We are working and pushing and trying and hoping and negotiating -- but it's not done yet," said a top Frist aide, who declined to detail negotiations.
Gambling industry lobbyists have stepped up their presence, especially aiming to persuade the chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate Armed Services committees to jettison the provision as they attempt to file the conference report as early as Monday. "The question is whether the authorizers get enough grief over this that they force the [House and Senate] leaders to move off," said one top lobbyist. "Time is a major factor now. They have to file soon." The House in July passed, 317-93, a comprehensive measure to ban most forms of online gambling. Lobbyists said they feel the issue is primarily being driven by Frist's bid to court conservative Christians who play a critical role in the GOP presidential nominating process and for whom the online gambling ban is a top legislative priority.
Frist is pushing a truncated version of the House bill that essentially would bar banks and credit card companies from processing payments for online bets and make it a crime for a gambling business to accept credit cards, wire transfers or any other bank instrument to process payments for illegal gaming transactions. But, according to lobbyists, Frist was able to pick up key Senate support after including a carve-out for the politically powerful horse racing industry, which has supporters such as Majority Whip McConnell. House leaders appear inclined to go along with Frist, according to lobbyists, even though his rider does not include House language sponsored by Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., that would amend the 1961 Wire Act to prohibit businesses from using all forms of new technology to accept bets over state and foreign lines. Goodlatte had strenuously fought to include changes to the Wire Act in the House bill, but that language has been considered too contentious to take up in the Senate. A top aide for Speaker Hastert said he was on board with Frist's bid. One lobbyist was even more direct: "Hastert's rolling Goodlatte." Goodlatte's office did not respond for comment.
One key question is the influence of the American Gaming Association, especially AGA President Frank Fahrenkopf Jr., a former chairman of the Republican National Committee. The AGA is calling for a commission to study the online gambling industry, including whether the United States should regulate and tax the industry rather than enacting a complete ban. It also counts Senate Minority Leader Reid as an ally. "I favor a ban. I don't like it. But failing that, I would certainly go along with a study," Reid said Thursday. Lobbyists said Native American tribes with gaming interests also are contacting lawmakers. Sen.
Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., a gambling opponent, said Thursday he thought that his side would eventually succeed even if the rider was not included on the defense authorization bill, but possibly another piece of legislation before the end of the year. "We will find a way to get legislation on online gambling this year," said Kyl, who faces a tough re-election bid. "Some gambling interests oppose what we are trying to do, but I am confident that we have a way to get it done." -- by Bill Swindell

 

[MadJack]

Call your Senators and also place a call to Harry Reid (NV) and John Warner (VA). They are the two ranking members of the Armed Services Committee and they are the two that could put an end to this quickly....remember they've already said NO once...lets make sure they say it again.

Numbers for all US Senators are on www.saveonlinegaming.com just click the map in teh top right corner.

 

[MadJack]

what you can say when you call

what you can say when you call

- I am a {Republican/Democratic} voter in your {state/district}. (I would only mention your party affiliation if it corresponds with that of the congressperson. If you are a veteran or reservist, or have a son/daughter/father/brother who serves in the military, I might also mention that.)

- I oppose Senator Frist's effort to attach provisions on internet gambling to the Department of Defense Authorization bill.

- Internet gambling is a complex issue that deserves to be debated before the full light of day in the Senate.

- It is particularly inappropriate to attach extraneous language to a defense bill, where it jeopardizes pay raises for our troops in a time of war.

- Congress should instead work to tax and regulate gambling over the Internet, as it does other forms of gambling like lotteries and horse racing.

 

[MadJack]

if Frist gets away with this crooked *move* it's truely pathetic what these thieves can get away with when they want something.

this guy has been nothing but a cheating thief his entire life and here he goes again.

truely pathetic!!!

 

[MadJack]

and if he doesn't *sneak* it through on this defense bill, he has his grubby eyes set on another bill to attach it to.