| Gambling News!
|
|
Back
|
|
House exempts U.S. operations from ban on credit card gambling
|
2003-06-10
|
|
The House at Washington D.C has voted this past Monday to excuse gambling businesses from legislation that would ban players from using credit cards, checks or electronic fund transfers at unlicensed offshore Internet casinos.
A number of regulators said the decision to ban the cyber casinos may be done from a positive intention and is sourced in a pure intention to secure the licensed operations (such as horse racing, lotteries, dog racing), but at the same time it might cause the businesses to activate their sites outside the U.S.
The new restriction to forbid online transactions passed pretty easily 321-103.
"Online gambling industry has got involved with terrorism and the mafia and we have to take control and stop it in any way possible." Announced Rep. Darlene Hooley, D-Ore.
The bill which has been voted before this one regarding the same matter was the prohibition of any legal transaction with any business which is acknowledged by the state and holds the papers to prove it.
It also passed easily enough 240-183.
Those who opposed the approval claimed that by letting people place bets on animals, play lottery and other games means that playing games through the internet is something that is allowed and that it is possible to use their credit cards and lose money in those specific games.
Those who favored the bill believe that not approving the bill will totally determine the horse racing sport and that USA state could do it earlier and it always controls the rules of the games. If something does not prove itself as satisfactory, there is always an option to change or improve it if necessary.
For now, we have no information on the Senate's next step in changing the bill's version which includes the American gambling establishment offered.
Internet gambling has been referred as "a fast growing industry" which makes enormous amounts of money and the predictions for the future are very optimistic and are estimated at about $5 billion!
Most online casinos �GAO-are located on the world wide web and most of them are originated outside the united states.
There are probably around 2,000 online casinos which are considered illegal.
The new bill may determine that online gambling is illegal, but it doesn't mean that once one decides to use it he will be punished. No penalties are mentioned in the new restriction and in addition, the proponents added a reference to a punishment which was immediately taken off by the House Judiciary Committee for American gambling.
Those who tried to add the link to the punishment reference are not about to give it up so easily�
|
|
(By Liat)
|
|
|
|
