U.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., has announced plans to introduce an online gambling prohibition bill to the House of Representatives. It is believed that such a bill would resemble a previous bill he authored in that it would amend the federal Wire Act with language specifying that online gambling is illegal. It is also believed that Goodlatte will introduce the new bill sometime next week.
Goodlatte's last attempt to champion a prohibition bill was the Combating Illegal Gambling Reform and Modernization Act (HR 3215), introduced in November 2001. The bill would have revised the Wire Act to clarify that it is not just "wire" bets that are illegal, but also communications via "cable," "satellite" and "microwave," whether "fixed or mobile."
The bill also sought to address financial transactions by making it illegal for interactive gambling operators to accept payments in the form of credit cards, checks and Internet transfers for illegal online gambling transactions. It contained a provision that provided an enforcement mechanism to address offshore gambling businesses using U.S. bank accounts.
The lives of Goodlatte's past bills were marked by amendments that either inserted or removed exemptions for various forms of gambling (horse racing, state lotteries, Indian gaming, fantasy sports, etc.) that often proved detrimental to them.
Another current bill aiming to prohibit online gambling, meanwhile, has already found its way to the House. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (HR 4411), introduced by Rep. James Leach, R-Iowa, would prohibit online gambling among the American public by making it illegal to pay for such services using credit cards, wire transfers, or any other banking instruments. Leach's bill would not update the Wire Act.
Leach's office says the congressman worked closely with Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., when drafting the bill. Kyl has seemed ready to introduce a similar bill in the Senate since the beginning of the 109th Congress in January 2005.