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Internet gambling bill unlikely this year
The anti-Internet gambling bill sponsored by US Senator Kyl is unlikely to become law this year, sources quoted in an article by the Las Vegas Review-Journal said. Even last week, Senator Kyl was saying his bill would reach the Senate. However, Capitol Hill sources quoted by the report said that with the Senate concentrating on energy and Medicare bills, Kyl knows time will run out on his bill this year.
‘I’m not so sure he has given up. We’re assuming he will go forward,’ said Frank Fahrenkopf, president of the American Gaming Association.
The AGA opposes the Kyl bill because of concerns that Indian gaming and the pari-mutuel industry would have an edge over mainstream casinos. ‘The problem is that our terms are not acceptable to Native Americans,’ Fahrenkopf said.
However, National Indian Gaming Association’s general counsel John Harte said it is not that simple: ‘We would rather have an outright prohibition, but if states are going to get carve-outs, we have to be included,’ Harte said. ‘This is a $6 billion industry, and we’re not going to be left out in the cold.’
‘I’m sure (Kyl will) be back. He’s not one to give up,’ said Sue Schneider, chairwoman of the Interactive Gaming Council, an online gambling industry advocacy organisation.
‘The interesting thing is that the net effect of what Congress is trying to accomplish already has happened,’ Schneider said. ‘Banks and credit card companies are already blocking Internet gaming transactions.’
