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In the past few weeks, various news outlets, ranging from ABC to The Guardian, have been reporting on Congressman Barney Frank’s proposed online gambling bill. The bill, which could legalise online casinos in the United States, or at least offer a clear definition of what is “internet gambling”, was approved by the House of Representatives financial services committee last week.
Since then, a variety of news sources have been reporting on what a legal US casino market could mean for operators such as PartyGaming, which lost 58% of its share price when online gambling was deemed illegal the US back in September, 2006.
However, news websites such as ABC have drawn attention to the fact that if Frank’s bill were to be passed by the House and Senate, he has just two weeks to get the legislation before American lawmakers. Frank’s bill has to be passed by the House of Representatives before the November mid-term elections and as Congress is about to take a seven week break, he has just two weeks to get the bill passed by lawmakers, before the deadline.
To make matters even more complicated, Frank has suggested that the bill should go forward alongside another piece of legislation, sponsored by Congressman Jim McDermott. McDermott’s bill, known as the Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax Enforcement Act of 2010, would provide the tax and regulatory framework for Frank’s proposed legislation. Given that it’ll be tough enough to get just Frank’s bill approved in the two week period, the chances of getting both pieces of legislation passed by November have been described as slim. John Pappas, of the Poker Players Alliance, has suggested that getting both bills approved won’t be “an easy task”.
While the debate rages on about the potential of casino operators such as PartyGaming, it remains to be seen whether Frank and McDermott’s bill can even be discussed, let alone approved, by November.
