Offshore Gambling Interests Expected to Lobby Big-Time Against House Bill
by Ed Thomas and Jody Brown
July 13, 2006
(AgapePress) - - The Internet Gambling Prohibition and Enforcement Act, which passed Tuesday in the U.S. House, made certain types of online gambling illegal; however, it was criticized by some for its exceptions for state-run horse racing and lotteries. But more importantly, says one pro-family group spokesman, H.R. 4411 deals with one of the biggest issues related to combating this form of gambling. Chad Hills is a research analyst with Focus on the Family who has been following the progress of the anti-Internet gambling bill. Hills says the bill is important because it updates the Federal Wire Act of 1961, a move designed to help take control out of the hands of originating online gambling companies offshore. (See earlier story)
"This piece of legislation was very specific to Internet gambling," he explains, "and specifically wanted to address the foreign Internet gambling aspects" -- especially since the majority of the online gambling businesses originate outside the United States. That particular emphasis, notes Hills, drew the attention of those companies because of what was at stake.
"We've had a lot of foreign gambling interests hiring lobbying firms in the DC area to combat this legislation because they realize the loss they would take if this passed," he says. The offshore gambling industry brings in a reported $12 billion annually.
Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, is convinced the absence of one particular Capitol Hill lobbyist played a role in the bill's passage by the House. "It should be noted that Jack Abramoff is no longer at large to stalk the halls of Congress lobbying for the gambling interests," writes the FRC leader. "That surely made a difference."
Perkins also notes that various endorsements of the bill certainly did not hurt. "I was happy to see Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association all backing this bill," he says. In addition, only two state attorneys general out of 50 chose not to support the measure.
The bill's provisions make banking transactions for online gambling illegal, and penalizes banks for transfer of funds offshore for betting -- tools that would help the Justice Department with enforcement against offshore companies should the measure become law. H.R. 4411, which passed the house 317-93, now moves on to the U.S. Senate, where Hills and many others are predicting that lobbyists for those foreign gambling interests will make passage of the legislation a much tougher fight.
