March 31, 2010 (CAP Newswire) – Earlier this week, Washington State Representative Jim McDermott introduced a revised version of his Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax Enforcement Act, originally launched last year. The bill marks the third major piece of legislation in the U.S. Congress that seeks to legalize and regulate online gambling on a national level.
In a bid to increase the appeal of online gambling, McDermott’s new bill would channel funds from regulated online gambling to assist foster children.
“I wanted to help out foster kids. I have watched them always get the short end of the stick,” McDermott told political website The Hill.
“Taxes in McDermott’s bill could raise $30 billion over 10 years in new state tax revenue,” The Hill writer Kevin Bogardus adds. “About 25 percent of the revenue collected from federal taxes, estimated about $42 billion over 10 years, would go to foster care programs.”
Some other significant changes were made to the bill to make it more appealing to the handful of individual states that are currently considering instituting their own online gambling laws. If passed, the bill would allow individual states and “tribal” governments to receive a percentage of the revenue generated from online gambling in jurisdictions.
Representative Barney Frank, who has been crusading for legalized online gambling for years, has signed on to the bill as a co-sponsor.
According to Casino Gambling Web, the bill has other co-sponsors, including John Larson, Chair of the House Democratic Caucus, and Oregon Congressman Earl Blumenauer. McDermott’s bill will be presented as a companion to the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act that Frank offered last year.