All is quiet on the Kyl bill front as Congress remains in recess for the rest of August and the first week of September. Things could heat up, however, when the Washington boys go back into action.
Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) managed to get his Internet Gambling Prohibition Act (S. 692) out of the Senate Judiciary Committee in June, but it could be in jeopardy if it doesn't get to the floor soon.
The Kyl bill would make it illegal to accept bets or wagers from online gamblers (regardless of their citizenship) and for non-US operators to accept bets or wagers from the United States. It also would make criminals out of those who "direct, manage, finance, control, or own any part of a gambling business." That includes shareholders, foreign subsidiaries and possibly even credit card companies (which finance operations on a short term basis). Penalties range from fines to four years in jail.
To enforce the prohibition, the Kyl bill would permit law enforcement agencies to order ISPs to terminate subscriber access to sites identified as gaming sites. It wouldn't criminalize casual bettors,
although individuals caught betting online could lose their ISP accounts.
Meanwhile, a bill in the House could be in the works as well. Last year's House Prohibition Act--sponsored by Reps. Goodlatte (R-VA), LoBiondo (R-NJ), and McCollum (R-FL)--took an approach that put the burden on the states to regulate or prohibit Internet gambling. The proposal died at the end of 1998 and hasn't been reintroduced. The House Judiciary Committee is considering either reintroducing last year's
bill, accepting the language used in the Kyl bill or adopting a different position altogether.
Things are happening on the state level as well. A bill was introduced last spring in Minnesota that would create a commission to study the economic impact of regulation of Internet gaming in that
state. Jobs, taxes, and consumer protection are issues being raised in this debate. A panel of the Minnesota Senate will hold hearings on internet gaming and the potential benefits it could bring to the state. Texas is considering the creation of a similar commission. While Illinois has enacted legislation making internet gaming a crime, the minority leader of the Illinois state senate has discussed regulation as a more practical alternative to prohibition in the state.