Frank Finally Reveals Poker Legislation
Written by RogerCP | Thursday, May 7th, 2009
After holding us all in suspense over the new gambling and poker legislation that he was set to reveal, Barney Frank has finally let us know whether it was worth the wait. Frank’s ultimate aim is to legalize and regulate online poker and gambling in the United States and he has been announcing possible dates for his new ideas since the beginning of the year already.
On Wednesday, Frank finally showed us all that he is absolutely hell-bent on changing the gambling landscape in the United States as we know it today. As far as Frank is concerned, the monstrous Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) has no place in the law books and should be scrapped altogether.
True, Barney Frank’s new legislation doesn’t differ much from the laws he tried to pass in 2007, with little success. But there are two major differences this time round. For one, the political picture in the United States is as different as it could ever be from two years ago. Liberal winds are blowing, politicians are looking for change, the Obama government is set on introducing changes to Bush’s ‘midnight rules’, and the stage seems to be set for a turnaround in gambling laws.
The second difference this time round is that Barney Frank has decided to take his legislation one step further and introduce separate legislation to attempt to delay the implementation of UIGEA regulations that are set to go into effect in December this year. This in itself should have some type of impact on the industry.
The news of Barney Frank’s new legislation was naturally welcomed by the Poker Players Alliance, which said that there was finally hope that online poker players would be protected. “Online poker is a legal, thriving industry and poker players deserve the consumer protections and the freedom to play that are provided for in this legislation,” said PPA Chairman Alfonse D’Amato. “We are grateful for Chairman Frank’s leadership and will be activating our grassroots army made up of over one million members to help him drive legislation.”
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· Written by RogerCP · Filed Under Poker Gossip · Comments Off
