June 16, 2010 (CAP News Wire) – The number of American politicians speaking out on the Internet gambling laws and regulations in the U.S. Justice Department’s is on the rise. Now, the highest law enforcement official in Indiana, Attorney General Greg Zoeller, is defending the UIGEA and dismissing efforts to overturn it by legislators like Barney Frank and Jim McDermott.
“As attorney general, my job description requires me to defend the ability of our state to pass its own state laws and not have them nullified or preempted by the federal government,” Zoeller announced in an Indiana government news release.
“The proposals before Congress would likely undermine the gambling enforcement powers of states,” Zoeller continued. “While serious objections to this legislation have been raised by those in professional sports, college athletics and other groups — who warn that licensing online gaming will open the floodgates to gambling addiction by youth and adults, ruined credit and the potential for corruption and organized crime — there are other valid reasons to be concerned about this legislation.”
The statements align Zoeller with such pro-UIGEA elements as the NFL and other professional sports organizations, who are fighting to restrict online gambling to small parts of the American economy (some would say, so that they can retain control and profits).
Whether or not Zoeller has enough pull to influence legislators in his state regarding Barney Frank’s online gambling legalization efforts is questionable, but his statement is getting quite a bit of media play in the industry. Read it here.