HR 2267 Passes House Committee
Over a year after it was introduced in the House of Representatives the HR 2267 was passed in the House Financial Services Committee on July 28, 2010. The bill was earlier scheduled to be voted on July 27. However, other bills were given priority on that day. Cutting across party lines the Representatives passed the bill with an overwhelming majority of 44 to 21. And this kind of support from legislators will bring confidence to the online gaming community as the bill moves into the full House for discussion.
Throughout the mark up hearing, Barney Frank stressed that additional revenue generation was only an incidental benefit. He said that he had pioneered this bill because Americans had the right to freedom. The Government should not infringe on this right unless it causes harm to others. Several amendments to the bill as originally drafted were made. Sports betting was removed from the purview of the bill. So were tribal casinos and state lotteries. Restrictions were imposed on advertisements from online casino operators, with a view to protect problem gamblers.
The regulation of online gambling as set out in the HR 2267 includes the following activities. The regulatory authority will issue licenses after a process of vetting them and will also maintain a blacklist of illegal operators. The bill ensures use of technology to prevent minors from signing up at online casinos. The online casino operators will set limits on deposits and losses from its members in order to prevent compulsive gambling. Fraud prevention, prevention of money laundering and tax avoidance will be other areas that the regulatory authority will be involved in.
