Goodlatte Reintroduces Bill To Outlaw Online Gaming In US

by Mike Godfrey, for LawAndTax-News.com, Washington

21 February 2006

Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) has reintroduced bipartisan legislation that if approved will bar Americans from gambling using companies based offshore, as well as outlawing gambling that crosses state lines via phone lines and the internet.

The Internet Gambling Prohibition Act seeks to prevent illegal gambling by updating the Wire Act, which prohibits gambling over telephone wires, to cover all forms of interstate gambling and account for new technologies.

The Wire Act predates the coming of the internet by many years and Goodlatte's bill is designed to to make it clear that the prohibitions include internet gambling and the use of other new technologies.

“I have been continuously committed to putting an end to gambling on the Internet,” Goodlatte stated at a press conference last week.

“For too long our children have been placed in harm’s way as online gambling has been permitted to flourish into a $12 billion industry. The Internet Gambling Prohibition Act brings the current ban against interstate gambling up to speed with the development of new technology," Goodlatte argued.

According to Goodlatte, online gambling activities "suck billions of dollars per year out of the U.S. economy," whilst also serving as a vehicle for money laundering, undermining families and threatening the ability of states to enact and enforce their own laws.

"The explosive growth of the Internet has provided a means for gambling operations to evade existing anti-gambling laws,” observed Rick Boucher (D-VA), who is co-sponsoring the legislation.

“These Internet gambling websites typically operate offshore and often serve as a prime vehicle for money laundering and other criminal enterprises. Our bill sensibly updates federal law to keep pace with new technologies by bringing the Internet within the fold of the anti-gambling restrictions that govern telephones," he added.

The Internet Gambling Prohibition Act allows states to continue to regulate gambling within their borders, with tight controls to be sure that it does not extend beyond their borders or to minors. It also prohibits a gambling business from accepting certain forms of payment, including credit cards, checks, wire and Internet transfers, in illegal gambling transactions.

The legislation also allows federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement officials to seek injunctions to prevent and restrain violations of this Act and obtain cooperation in the fight against illegal gambling.

The legislation increases the maximum prison term for a violation of this Act from 2 years to 5 years.

The Internet Gambling Prohibition Act has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee, on which Goodlatte and Boucher are both members, for further consideration.

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