Rep. Bob Goodlatte's anti-Internet gambling bill was pulled from a markup session in the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee today.
According to one Washington, D.C.-based source, the resulting status of the bill is causing confusion among all sectors of the U.S. gambling industry.
The Virginia republican introduced the latest version of his prohibition bill, HR 3215, on Nov. 1, 2001. Also called the "Combating Illegal Gambling Reform and Modernization Act," the proposal would update the 1961 Interstate Wire Act to make Internet gambling illegal. Additionally, it would bar I-gaming merchants from accepting payments in the form of credit cards, checks and Internet transfers from consumers.
Goodlatte's bill has been in line to be marked up during the Judiciary Committee's rolling markups, which have taken place each Wednesday for the last few weeks.
Reportedly, before today's markup, Goodlatte asked the chairman of the committee to pull the bill from the session. The chairman, F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., R-Wis., told Goodlatte that his
request had to be put in a letter to be resolved. According to a Capitol Hill source, the situation put Goodlatte "in a box."
The Judiciary Committee went ahead with the markup of HR 3215 until it was called away for a vote on the House floor. Afterwards, Goodlatte pulled the bill from consideration.
The reason for Goodlatte's action, the source said, was that it was in danger of being stripped of its amendments. Without amendments to appease various industries tangential to I-gaming, the bill would have stood little chance of passing.
The bill could be taken back up in the Judiciary Committee on Friday, and if not then, it could be considered next Wednesday, May 15.
Until then, the bill's many onlookers will continue to wonder what outcome will be.
"We're just trying to figure out what it all means," the source said.