Frank Gives Poker Players
Great Online Gambling Message
 July
6 - On Sunday, July 5, U.S. congressman
Barney Frank
(D) addressed 1700 poker players at Rio Casino in Las Vegas,
Nevada during the
World Series of Poker (WSOP),
and said that he is confident that a bill to legalise
and regulate online gambling in the nation could be passed in
2010.
A
long-time supporter of legalised online gambling
in the U.S., Frank was warmly welcomed by the WSOP players as he
explained that
Americans must have the right and freedom to choose to gamble
online or not,
and it is these rights that must be protected, which is why next
year's bill is so important.
Frank, who has the reputation of being
a tenacious 'bulldog',
has been the driving force behind getting online gambling
legalised ever since it was effectively banned as a result of
the
Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA),
the piece of legislation that was passed by Congress in October
2006.
In 2008
Frank came close to overturning the 'draconian and
prohibitionist' UIGEA,
but was thwarted by a few votes by the predominantly Republican
Congress.
Now under President Obama's Democratic controlled House
and Senate,
the chances of the bill being passed in 2010 have increased.
While
President Obama
has not yet publicly addressed the online gambling legalisation
and regulation issue, he is a
huge poker fan himself,
and has stated that he would like to
keep the internet in America free from government interference.
The question is whether he has the balls to stand behind this.
Said online poker player Brian Grat after hearing Frank's
speech, 'This
was an exciting event today.
Representative Frank has been such a hero to all of us online
casino players, and
his presence at the WSOP is extremely uplifting.
Hopefully he was inspired enough to move quickly with his
legislation.'
Frank's
pro-online gambling bill, Bill H.R. 2267,
has reportedly received wide support from lawmakers already,
with forty co-sponsors.
Watch this space.
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