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Here is the lowdown. I made ALOT of calls on this yesterday:
The previous bills in 2000-2002 were stymied to to lobbying efforts by Abramoff and company.
As you know, Abramoff is under investigation.
An anti-lobbying bill was put forth in both the House and the Senate. In order for a law to pass, both must be exactly the same bills. Since this is a hot issue and the public will be watching the senate and house on this issue, it is a NO-BRAINER….it will pass. The anti-lobbying bill HAS to pass. Consider it a definite.
A few days ago, HR 4777 (the anti gambling bill) was added onto the anti-lobbying bill. This is how laws get passed in the USA. Congressmen with their mini-agendas wait for ‘the mother of all bills’ to appear in the house or the senate. Then they do everything they can to get their bill attached to it. Since the bill will be popular, it will pass. The only tricky part is getting the bill attached, which involves alot of back-room deals.
So, you can forget the House of Representatives. It is already there and attached to the bill. The issue now is the Senate. As I type, our ‘old friend’ Senator Kyl is trying to get his anti-gambling bill attached to the Senate anti-lobbying bil. This guy is a very tricky politician. Do not put anything past this man.
Our only hope now is in the Senate. If it is not added, then it HAS TO BE REMOVED from the house bill. And that answer we will find out TODAY, because today it gets decided on!
Lastly, lobbying: Unlike the past with few igaming companies lobbying, today is a different ball game. There are ALOT of lobbyists working on behalf of alot of igaming companies, including some major players. I can’t give numbers, but the number of lobbyists are impressive.
Similar to Money Launderers increasing their fees when there ‘is heat’ (police), the senators are most likely requiring ‘increased donations’ due to the current environment (similar to ‘heat’). So its a money grab game, plain and simple.
AND THAT IS AOUR ONLY HOPE. AND THAT IS TODAY.
If we get past this, I imagine the industry will certainly do some serious restructuring. I will certainly discuss that at the CAC event in Amsterdam….(Yes, your’s truly is speaking).
Marc Lesnick
Conference Organizer
Casino Affiliate Convention
http://www.CasinoAffiliateConvention.com
April 9-10, 2006
AmsterdamThanks Marc,
What about the news that Kyle’s ammendment was killed already? IGN was reporting this yesterday?
Thankswager, do you have a link to the ign article?
Wrong – Kyl is pushing for a bill to be attached. Kyl’s bill in 1998 is dead. Not the new one.
Wow! This is a roller coaster ride. Now I’m reading that MORGAN STANLEY has taken a position in an official report that they believe that the US govt banning online gaming is unlikely in the next 18-24 months. I’m trying to find the actual link, but I am reading it on other sites.
Marc Lesnick
Conference Organizer
Casino Affiliate ConventionYorktown, do you have any specifics on when would the bill be voted for attachment by the senate? I was looking through all C-SPANs and they have nothing going on.
A few days ago, HR 4777 (the anti gambling bill) was added onto the anti-lobbying bill.
Also do you have a link to supporting documentation that HR4777 was sucessfully attached to the houses lobbying reform bill? Without any evidence its all hearsay; ya have to be skeptical of everything these days and make sure you have the facts straight.
Thanks to another proposed amendment aimed at preventing a United Arab Emirates company from managing several key US ports.
“It would appear that now the U.S. Senate will take up the lobbying reform bill next week but the bipartisan managers of that bill have pledged to disallow any non-germane amendments to that bill as drafted.
This would eliminate the opportunity for Senator Kyl to move his prohibition bill in the Senate by attaching it to this particular vehicle.”
xxxhttp://www.gambling911.com/031006news.html
If Sting’s article is correct, then that is good.
With regard to your questions, most of the things that take place are back-room deals and I am only reading about it from Washington Insiders.
Sting also talks to people as well.
If I was to define 2 of the most pivotal moments for online gaming, this is one of them. The other was the Patriot Act of September 2001, where they tried to tack the anti-gambling legislation to the bill and it was removed the morning of the vote.
If Sting is correct, we dodged a bullet. A BIG bullet. Because if the ISP’s are testing filters that block all sites with gaming content, this would hobble most of the industry. If we delay this bill and not get it tacked onto the Reform Legislation, most companies in this industry should seriously consider restructuring. That starts with the Software suppliers all the way down to the affiliate. For you, the affiliate you need to re-examine where you are:
1) Look at other markets (outside the USA)
2) Look at other industries.You need to diversify your revenue so that if one market is affected, you are not out of business. This is a HUGE wake up call for the industry. Not just the operators and the software suppliers. You as well.
Let’s hope Sting was right with his info.
Marc Lesnick
Conference Organizer
Casino Affiliate Convention
http://www.casinoaffiliateconvention.comAt the bottom of the article..
“Gambling911.com News Wire
Originally published March 9, 2006 9:27 pm ET
“I may be wrong but….
Actually,
From a political standpoint this is a GREAT Sign! The question is why did they sideline the Gaming bill now? They could still tack it on! Why Not?
Simple they don’t want to throw a monkey wrench into a bill they desipratly need passed. Lawmakers know this is Very Unpopular move. All one has to do is look at the latest gallop polls to realize this. So what do they do? Why styme a Certain to pass Anti-Lobby bill with one that is going to cause a rutcas? In stead, take the sure thing and tack on the Ports Deal, which everyone in the world is against anyhow. That ensures the bill will be passed! (The AntiLobby)
Basically, Congress has acknowlegded this Anti-Gaming bill may be a bigger tiger then they want to hold by the tail at this point. I see this being sidelined for awhile. Until a Congressional sub-committee can look into it further. Congress knows if this bill does eventually pass. There will be Cival Right and Constitutional challenges from the gaming society. Unfortunetly, for them the casinos have the excess $$ to challenge it.
Congress folded! They will be happy to see the anti-lobby / Anti-Ports deal sail through without a hitch. And they sure as hell dont want to toss in a monkey wrench by tacking this on!
The anti-gaming bill is being endorsed primarily (but certainly not exclusively) by the Republican party. The Republican Party has taken some big blows the last couple of years, courtesy George Bush (and inner circle). The Republican party cannot take any more major news, nor involve themselves with major controversial news, that can further damage their image, that will have ripple-effects in the upcoming November elections. Although anti-gaming is not world-beating news realtive to some of the other stuff going on, it will trigger major issues regarding first-amendment freedom-of-speech issues. George Bush is already under-fire with his clandestine actions to be able to wiretap people that “could have an association with terrorism”. The ramifications of this anti-gambling legislation will further be associated with freedom-of-speech and civil right issues that have already been challenged with Bush’s recent wire-tapping stance. I truly believe that anti-gambling is a hot issue that Republicans will want to distance themselves from, with elections around the corner. To bundle this bill with any other bill, will be party suicide, particularly if main bills (like anti-lobbying) don’t wind up passing, due to filibusters on bills that contain amended bills such as anti-gaming. Look for this anti-gaming bill to be shelved for a while, and like someone said, maybe it will result in committees to be formed to look at it further, to weigh the options of legalization, regulation, and adding it to the tax base.
Get politics out of your mind. It is all about MONEY. That is what rules the day in DC.
Morgan Stanley with their report basicly legitimized online gambling. It shows that now Wall Street has a huge steak in the business. So there is alot of money invested and Wall Street made a statement to the Federal Government of ‘keep your hands off.’ That is a far cry from the old days when it was just software suppliers, a bunch of casino sites and affiliates.
If Sting is correct (he got his info from IGN), then, basically, its over….WE WON. Expect a huge growth in online gaming and all of you as affiliates should do very well in the years ahead.
But we will still know next week. In Washington, ANYTHING can happen.
Marc Lesnick
Conference Organizer
Casino Affiliate Convention
http://www.cac2006.comty Marc,
although im from the netherlands i understand the importance of your mesageI agree with Marc on this.
Includng that all is possible in DC – but this is looking better for us all the time.
York,
Yes, your message is clear. I do agree, it’s always about money. I was not aware that Fidelity and Merryl were in as deep as they were. You are absolutely correct, cash is king, and Wall Street speaks volumes.
I do think there would also be some serious political backlash from a “rider” amendment, and I do think this also factors into the equation.
All in all, I’m feeling a helluva lot better about this entire situation, than I was several weeks ago.
Thanks to all for their due diligence and link postings.
Now let’s get back to making some money !!!!
Regards,
Doug
