May 22, 2009 (CAP Newswire) — It’s been speculated that the reason that Barney Frank’s new bill to legalize and regulate online gambling apparently leave out Internet sports betting is because that's more likely to appease staunchly pro-UIGEA American professional sports organizations like the NFL, which tend to view online wagering as a direct threat to their profit stream (read more about that here).
If that’s the case, it ain’t working. Apparently, the NFL is still planning to fight Frank’s bill, citing the “integrity of our game” argument. In recent days, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy has called out Frank for his effort to legalize online gambling, stating that the League will continue to “exercise our right to oppose Internet betting on our games.”
“That this new legalization does not deal with sports betting, and therefore arguably isn’t in the NFL’s remit, appears inconsequential,” writes Joseph Ewans at FlopTurnRiver.com. “They have even gone as far as setting up a political action committee and hire full time lobbyist Jeff Miller.”