A Tale of Two Bills

September 24, 2008

HR 6870 is basically the same bill as HR 6767 � except for two small differences. One made it out of committee and one didn�t, and one involves sports and one doesn�t.

HR 6870 is Barney Frank�s latest attempt to get the Unlawful Internet Gambling Act one closer to being gone � and it has made it out of committee. His former bill HR 6767 couldn�t get out of committee unless he dumped sports wagering online � so he did.

Frank has been working hard to get online gambling legalized and regulated and the sports industry has kept their distance. They want to see it legalized, but they don�t want to get their hands dirty in the process. Well, now they are going to have to find someone else to fight for them.

Sports wagering has been left behind in the new bill, and is still forbidden by the UIGEA. If the bill passes all the way, online gambling will be legal for many types of gambling except for them. He tried to keep them a part of it, but without their support, they will now have to fight for themselves.

By making it illegal � fantasy sports will be gone, bookies will be looking for another job, etc. The sports industry has been treating online gambling like the red-headed step-child of the group, and now they are going to see what it is like to have to fight things for themselves. You can bet that when online gambling is legalized again they will be singing a different tune.




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