BestCraps.com

Internet Gambling Bill Gains An Ally In Rep. Blumenauer

Posted on June 1st, 2010

News Sponsored by Online Vegas Casino

Rated 5 Stars by BestCraps.com

Read Review

Visit Casino

Download Software

————————————————

Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Oregon, was one of the 115 Democrats who voted for legislation in 2006 that made gambling on the Internet illegal. This time, he believes it should be legal and taxed. Blumenauer said the driving force that motivated a change in his outlook is the over $40 billion in revenues projected to be collected from taxes from Internet gambling once the activity is legalized and regulated. He said that amount would be a great relief for a country that’s mired in debt.

In an interview, Blumenauer said the $40 billion in potential revenue that Internet gambling is projected to generate for the federal government in ten years could be used to lessen federal budget shortfalls or to fund projects that have a useful purpose.

He said the amount wagered online by Americans estimated to be $100 million is growing. He said that money is illegal and untaxed and going overseas and the U.S. government is powerless to go after those offshore online operators. Therefore, he reasoned, the sensible thing to do is to make online gambling legal so it can be regulated and taxed, instead of making it unlawful, thus sending it overseas or encouraging its covert and illegal operations. Blumenauer also said that revenue is just one of the reasons. He said if Internet gambling is legal, due protection would also be guaranteed for minors who gamble, and against identity theft, and other fraud and dishonesty.

The American Gaming Association in a 2005 study it conducted, said there are estimated to be 2,500 sites that exist on the Internet, and the revenue is increasing annually by 20 percent, although the association said the figures are all approximations. The study’s opinion is that online gambling business is in fact doing well despite being declared unlawful by federal and state governments.

However, there are loud voices in Congress belonging to stanch critics of two pieces of legislation that seek to legalize and tax Internet gambling filed by Rep. Barney Frank, a Democrat from Massachusetts and Rep. Jim McDermott, a Democrat from Washington. One of them is the Republican Representative from Virginia, Bob Goodlatte an ardent leader of the opponents. On the May 19th hearing of the House Ways and Means Committee, he asked committee members how Congress could ever think of legalizing an activity that’s now illegal and that wreaks destruction on people in order to gain revenue for government spending.

Another strong gambling opponent, Republican Representative Spencer Bachus from Alabama, a member of the House Financial Services Committee and sponsor of the 2006 law making Internet gambling unlawful, said if legislation on legalizing online gambling is approved, there will rise a generation of problem gamblers in America who will be addicted to online gambling from an early age and whose lives will become a mess.

Blumenauer, though, is optimistic that opposition to the proposal would eventually die away. He said if only those objecting to it would look at the idea more closely, they would be more supportive. He compared it to the lottery which was fiercely contested for several years but has now come to be accepted by the public and in almost all the states in America.

The proposal to legalize, regulate and tax Internet gambling is fast gaining popularity as more and more lawmakers have expressed support for Frank’s bill. The way the bill to make online gambling illegal was passed in 2006 in which it was attached as part of an unrelated bill is also being questioned by online gambling proponents. Barney Frank’s bill to legalize Internet gambling is set for a hearing before the House Financial Services Committee in July.