Congress Battles Yet Again: 2

The current decisions made by the United States government regarding online casino regulations have put a major burden on the financial system. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act has outlawed online casinos in the US and is currently made a new regulation that will require financial institutions to deny any transaction from online gambling operators. Meanwhile, the government has yet to define what actually constitutes an illegal gambling transaction. This highly debated topic was the center of an article written in the Birmingham News. The article featured one politician who has been outspoken about his anti Internet gambling, Spencer Bachus.

Bachus has made himself famous for his one liners against the online casino industry which has made him a media favorite. The Alabama newspaper said that Bachus approves of the manner that the last minute regulations were pushed trhough the senate, attached to a security bill that had to pass. The newspaper also reports that Bachus will support his decision if the incoming Democratic Congress wants to overturn the regulations added to the Act. Bachus has actually been quoted commenting on the midnight rulings of the UIGEA. He said, "No longer will the offshore gambling interests benefit from turning any computer into a casino that is available every minute of the day." His stance against online casinos is likely to not change anytime soon.

There is one man that may give Bachus a run for his money in the case of online casinos, and that man is Barney Frank. Frank is a Democratic Representative from the state of Massachusetts and he also is a chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. He has been fiercely against the UIGEA and the final addition to the Act that will place an extra burden on the financial industry. Frank supports the legalization of the online casino industry, so long as it is heavily regulated and taxed. Frank has said of the midnight rulings, “This midnight rulemaking will tie the hands of the new administration, (and) burden the financial services industry at a time of economic crisis.”