Barney Frank expected to introduce a bill in the House next month to repeal the UIGEA

I just have 5 words to say about this: “We love you, Barney Frank!”

Actually, I have more to say.  As we all know, the UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) was “introduced” in 2006 by being attached to the Port Security bill, which _had_ to be signed. There was no getting around that. The UIGEA would have never passed on its own, and was actually shot down in the House previously.

Hopefully, Frank’s Bill will pass, and the UIGEA will be repealed. While the UIGEA doesn’t actually make Online Gambling illegal, it makes it near impossible to fund casino/bingo/poker room accounts via credit card or other methods. The banks have already came out and said that they’re unable to comply with the UIGEA, and it would cost them a small fortune to be able to figure out which transactions are gambling related and block them accordingly. And with the economy in the shape it is in now, they have better things to worry about than blocking transactions of us hard-working citizens wanting to have a good time.

Besides, what gives the government the right to tell us how to spend our hard earned money?

By Doug Palmer

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A senior Democratic lawmaker will push legislation this year to repeal a U.S. ban on Internet gambling that has hurt trade ties with the European Union, a congressional aide said.

“The bill introduction should happen in the next month,” a spokesman for House of Representatives Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank said.

On Thursday, Reuters reported the EU could file a complaint about U.S. enforcement of the gambling ban at the World Trade Organization.

“Mr. Frank will bring back legislation to repeal the UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act),” the spokesman said, referring to a Republican-crafted bill passed in 2006 when the party controlled Congress and the White House.

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