Who in Congress Wants Online Gambling?
There are two kinds of congressmen who are against online gambling. There are those who see gambling as a terrible vice that needs to be eradicated from the United States and there is another kind. The first kind, including congressmen hailing from Utah and some “Bible Belt” states, have outlawed gambling of any sort in their state and most of their constituents are more than pleased with that. The second kind, though, is a trifle less noble.
Representative Barney Frank (Massachusetts, D) and Senator Bob Menendez (New Jersey, D) are looking to legalize online gambling operations within the United States, but have been met with resistance by Senator Harry Reid of Nevada who isn’t concerned with anything but the bottom line for his state. Nevada is currently the top destination for gamblers in the United States, with Las Vegas being perhaps the best known destination for gambling in the world. Reid’s concern is purely with state revenues.
Frank and Menendez, along with another 61 representatives who have agreed to co-sponsor the bill in the House so far, are more pragmatic. They realize that Americans will gamble online, and they see the bill as a way of keeping revenues in the United States and a way of helping to regulate online gambling in order to ensure customer security. While the bill will not be brought before the House of Representatives before the beginning of 2010, America’s online gamblers can be confident that there are plenty of those on Capitol Hill who are aware that it is impossible to keep American gamblers off of the internet.
