A letter penned by three U.S. legislators and submitted to the Christian Science Monitor could be an indication that I-gaming prohibition will be a focal point in the upcoming 109th Congress.
The letter, signed by Michael G. Oxley, R-Ohio, Spencer Bachus R-Ala., and James A. Leach, R-Iowa, was written in response to an editorial the newspaper published on Jan. 6.
The article called on Congress to do more to keep online casinos and gambling sites in check. In it, the paper stated, "Never mind that the federal government considers Internet gambling illegal for American bettors, although federal rules are murky at best. (Internet gambling Web sites originate offshore and remain immune from U.S. law.) And Congress has done very little to control the expansion of online gambling." It also questioned whether the ineffectiveness of the bills getting passed in Washington had anything to do with the $9 million the industry raised for the campaigns of various legislators in 2004.
Peggy Peterson, a spokesperson for the House Financial Services Committee, said the trio was concerned about the perception that they weren't doing enough to stop online gambling.
"It seemed like the message in their editorial was that Congress wasn't doing enough to ban online casinos," she said. "They felt like they were doing every thing they could in the last few years and wanted that to be known."
In its letter, the group pointed out that in the last three Congresses, the House Financial Services Committee advanced legislation that would have prevented the use of credit cards, wire transfers and other bank instruments to fund gaming transactions.
"While we have twice succeeded in achieving House passage of this important legislation, the Senate has failed to act," the letter said. "Our Committee's attempts to add anti-Internet gambling provisions to the legislation implementing the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission late last year also fell short."
The legislators also stated that they are committed to continuing their efforts to control the rise of Internet gambling sites.
Congress reconvenes in late January, and the first Financial Services Committee is schedule for early February. An I-gaming bill will likely be introduced early in the session.
"No one is prepared at this time to say exactly what bills they intend to introduce or not in terms of online gaming," Peterson said, "but it has been on the radar screen of the committee for sometime now."
The Senate Banking Committee voted during the last session to approve the Internet Gambling Funding Prohibition Bill, a piece of legislation proposed by Sen. Kyl, a chief opponent of I-gaming throughout the last decade. The bill never made it to the full Senate. A companion bill passed in the House in 2003.
The House and the Senate have moved prohibition bills on different occasions, but never have both chambers passed a bill during the same Congress.