April 14, 2010 (CAP Newswire) – This week, Barney Frank’s drive to get online gambling legalized and regulated in the United States almost got a long overdue hearing from the U.S. Congress. Instead, at the last minute, it was once more postponed, to be heard at a future, unspecified date.
The hearing was scheduled for the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, and was to focus on two pending online gambling regulatory bills, “H.R. 2266, the Reasonable Prudence in Regulation Act”, and “H.R. 2267, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act”. However, the hearing was postponed, apparently due to a conflict in Frank’s own schedule. (Frank is the chairman of the committee.)
Unfortunately, as of press time, the postponement is being called “indefinite”, so there’s no telling when (and if) the bills will get an actual hearing.
Among other online gambling-related goals, the bills seek to delay implementation of the UIGEA (the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act), due to go into full effect on June 1.
A question some are asking: If Barney Frank is so adamant about this topic, why can’t he, as chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, exert greater power in making these bills the subject of his committee’s focus?
The official website for the House Financial Services Committee can be found here.