Gambling.co.uk: Gambling News Archive

Gambling Law, Legislative Update Lawrence G. Walters, Esq

Gambling Law Update Lawrence G. Walters, Esq

Thursday 17th February 2005

JANUARY 2005

Introduction

Gambling Law Update returns this month after a several month hiatus. Much has been happening in the world of Internet Gambling, and the Author has been in the trenches fighting various battles at different levels. Advertisers remain nervous about taking online gambling advertising, although significant progress is being made to educate them on the difference between reality and rumor. The Casino City case continues to wind it way through the court system, with the first round of briefs completed, and very little surprises. The Department of Justice claims that the case should be dismissed because they have not prosecuted anybody in the almost 2 years since the initial threats. Now there’s an argument. Does that mean that the threats were empty, and they didn’t really mean it? Does that mean they finally realized online gambling advertising is protected by the First Amendment? Time will tell, but speaking of time, there’s no time to waste, so on with the Update:

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

With revenues from Internet gambling bets placed from the United States toping more than $1 billion annually, according to Christiansen Capital Advisors, LLC, and with the market is expected to grow to $18.4 billion internationally by 2010, all eyes were on Congress to determine whether or not they would finally pass some form of Internet gambling legislation. But as was evident in previous terms, Bill language and state’s rights to regulate gambling held several different Internet gambling Bills in committee. On July 31, 2004, the Senate Banking Committee voted 19-0 to approve restrictions that Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ), the leading anti-gambling voice in Washington proposed. However, the Senate Banking Committee also added additional provisions to prevent states from regulating gambling within their borders, effectively killing the Bill. In the House of Representatives, Rep. Michael Oxley, Chairman of the Financial Services Committee, added HR 2143, an Internet gambling prohibition bill, to the September 11 Bill before sending it out of Committee. However, this move was against the wishes of House Republican leadership, and the HR 2143 provision was stripped from the September 11 Bill before its final passage. Now that the 108th session of Congress has come to a close, any pending legislation will have to be reintroduced. It is likely that Senator Kyl, who has introduced several versions of this Bill before, will attempt to pass another version during the 109th session; “I wouldn’t bet the mortgage that (Internet gambling restrictions) will pass this year, but his interest in this issue will not go away,” Kyl spokesman Scot Montrey said. With the loss of Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, the major voice of opposition to this Bill, it remains to be seen whether the Senate will be influenced by Kyl. Although Kyl’s vendetta for the gaming industry is unlikely to go away, it is more likely that Congress will eventually pass some form of legislation to regulate Internet gambling, similar to HR 1233 proposed by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), to create a federal commission to study the licensing and regulation of companies taking bets online. Nevertheless, this lack of clarity as to what is legal with respect to Internet gambling in the United States is going to continue to cause headaches for online wagering companies.

Taking a different approach to regulating Internet gambling, the Bush administration is urging United States money transfer businesses to take steps to make sure that their overseas agents are not vulnerable to money launderers and terrorist financers. The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCen”) issued guidance aimed at addressing this issue, making it clear that money transfer businesses must put procedures in place to detect abuses by foreign agents, guarding against money launderers and terrorist financers. “To the extent a money services business uses relationships with foreign agents and counterparts to facilitate the movement of funds into or out of the United States, the money services business’ anti-money laundering program must reasonably address the risks of money laundering and the financing of terrorism,” the agency said in a statement. The Treasury said that companies will have six months to come into compliance, marking the latest step by the administration to bolster oversight of money transfer companies.




Source: OnlineCasinoNews