House easily approves Internet gambling ban

By Peter Kaplan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. House on Tuesday approved a
Republican-written bill to crack down on Internet gambling, in
what critics said was an election-year appeal to the party’s
conservative base.

The House voted 317-93 to impose a ban on most forms of
Internet gambling by making it illegal for banks and credit
card companies to make payments to online gambling sites.
Internet gambling generates some $12 billion annually
worldwide, half from American gamblers.

The bill exempted horse racing and lotteries from the ban.

“This is a scourge on our society. It causes innumerable
problems,” Republican Bob Goodlatte of Virginia, one of the
bill’s sponsors, said on the House floor before the vote.

The House bill, which was also sponsored by Jim Leach of
Iowa, is part of the Republican party’s emphasis on moral
values as congressional elections approach this fall.

It won support from majorities of both Republicans and
Democrats.

Supporters cited examples of college students and other
young people whose lives were ruined after they became addicted
to Internet gambling. In one case, they said, a man robbed a
bank to try to recover his losses.

Opponents, meanwhile, criticized the bill as a politically
motivated bid to stir up social conservatives and boost
Republican prospects in the November elections.

“It’s politics, plain and simple,” said Michael Bolcerek,
president of the 30,000-member Poker Players Alliance, which is
willing to support some regulation of online poker games, but
opposes an outright ban.

Prospects for similar legislation in the Senate remained
unclear with few work days left before the November elections.
Arizona Republican Sen. Jon Kyl was said to be seeking a bill
to which he could attach anti-gambling language.

Kyl issued a statement after the House vote on Tuesday
saying he would “explore all ways to move this much-needed
legislation through the Senate this year.”

BROAD SUPPORT FROM CONSERVATIVES

The bill was propelled by broad support among conservative
and religious activist groups, which want to keep gambling out
of easy reach of minors. To win more backing among lawmakers,
the bill specifically exempted horse racing and lotteries and
watered down enforcement provisions for banks that fail to
block credit card payments, according to congressional aides.

An estimated 2,300 gambling sites exist on the Internet.

Investors in some British-based gaming companies, such as
Partygaming Plc and 888 Holdings Plc have closely monitored
U.S. legislation. In Tuesday trading on the London Stock
Exchange, 888 Holdings was up about 0.6 percent while
Partygaming was slightly lower.

The ban would have little effect on companies that offer
Internet gambling, said Frank Catania, a consultant who opposed
the bill and advises gambling companies on regulatory issues.

“This will not stop Internet gambling at all,” he said.

A spokesman for Leach, Greg Wierzynski, denied suggestions
the move was politically-motivated. He noted Leach has been
pushing Congress to take up the issue for many years.

“It’s not an effort to assuage or pander to a specific
interest group,” Wierzynski said.

Democrat Barney Frank of Massachusetts said he thought the
bill was “outrageous.”

“If people want to do something, and it doesn’t hurt
anybody else, we ought to mind our own business,” Frank said on
Monday. “This is a bill to tell adults not to do something
because people in this body disapprove of what they do.”