HR 5767, the recently introduced Congressional bill designed to halt federal officials from further implementation of the controversial regulations underpinning the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, has another five supporters.

The Bill, proposed by House Financial Services Committee chairman Barney Franks (Massachusetts) and Representative Ron Paul (Texas) quickly signed up 11 supporters, who have now been joined by Russ Carnahan (Missouri), Michael Capuano (Massachusetts), Ed  Perlmutter (Colorado), Charles Gonzalez (Texas) and Joe Baca (California)

Launching the bill last month, Frank said: "These regulations are impossible to implement without placing a significant burden on the payments system and financial institutions."

The following Representatives were the first to sign up for HR5767:
 
Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.)
Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.)
William Lacy Clay (D-Mo.)
Bob Filner (D-Calif.)
Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.)
Michael Honda (D-Calif.)
Peter King (R-N.Y.)
James McGovern (D-Mass.)
James Moran (D-Va.)
Robert Wexler (D-Fla.)

The Paul/Frank bill seeks to prohibit the Department of Treasury and the Federal Reserve from proposing regulations to enforce the UIGEA ban on Internet gambling financial transactions enacted in late 2006.  The controversial legislation has been the subject of wide media comment, Congressional hearings and over 200 critical submissions, mainly from the financial community that will be required to enforce the law. Complaints are that the law is ambiguous, impractical and lacks precision, and that it generates too great a workload for the US financial services industry.

Federal drafting officials have admitted that the regulations, now long overdue more than 18 months after the root legislation was passed, is giving them problems.