It varies, Ixian. The normal process is to introduce it into a House committee (which Frank has already done). If it wins the committee vote, it gets introduced into the full House of Representatives. If it wins that, it goes to the Senate. If it wins the Senate vote, the final step is to get signed (or vetoed) by the president.
And for each of these steps, it usually gets rewritten and/or combined with other legislation.
All this can take months, or it can take days, depending on whether the Congress deems it a priority. This bill is a bit of a harder sell, so Frank is taking time to gather up support rather than rush it straight through a Congress that may not be ready for it yet. But if it’s still making the rounds when Congress retires at the end of the year, it expires.
You can follow the progress of Frank’s bill here:
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-2267
And you can follow McDermott’s bill, which also focuses on regulating online gambling, here:
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-2268