|
Internet gambling
bill passing:
Republican
politician suggests
"no big deal" While the industry reels following passage of a bill to drastically curb online gambling, at least one top ranking Republican politician we spoke to offered his own take on what will ultimately transpire. Wishing to remain anonymous, this politician told Gambling911.com "It (the bill) will change very little."
He went on to
explain that the
focus of the bill is
primarily on credit
card processing.
Banking institutions
have already made it
clear online
transactions are
virtually impossible
to stop via
electronic check and
bank wire. |
 Companies like NETeller will likely feel the pinch of new legislation before all others |
|
"The bill affects
Visa/Mastercard
transactions and it
is getting
impossible to use
these cards anyway
(for online gambling
transactions. "The bill is very 'watered down' in terms of language which gives ISPs plenty of wiggle room if they did not know they were enabling consumers to reach gaming sites. It is not a big deal." It is a big deal, however, to the online gambling sector, with a number of publicly traded firms expected to release statements on Monday.Andrew McIvor, the finance director of Sportingbet, which takes most of its bets from the US market, told the Belfast Telegraph Saturday night: "We have not discussed it (the bill) yet as a board and have not taken on what it really means for the company as yet. Things will unravel during the week." Others have suggested to Gambling911.com that countries - quite possibly the online gambling Mecca of Gibraltar - may be considering legal action against the United States with the island nation of Antigua a near sure bet to follow. Legal advisors for one major online payment processor have already indicated to Gambling911.com they plan on joining in on any pending litigation that might materialize as a result of this bill. A third party risk meeting is slated this coming Thursday in London. And the mainstream media isn't exactly pounding the pavement about an all out ban on internet gambling either. A Wall Street analyst, learning of initial failed attempts to tack on internet gambling legislation to a defense authorization bill, joked last week: "What other bills are floating around that Frist will stick his anti gambling provision to?" Not until Friday was anyone aware that Frist would actually attempt to attach internet gambling prohibition to a port security bill. Lost in all of Saturday's news is the slim possibility that President Bush may not even sign the bill into law. While seemingly important, port security languished in Congress for years before getting a last minute vote of approval during the wee hours of Saturday morning. "The President will sign as is," insisted the top ranking Republican politician we spoke with. ---- Christopher Costigan, www.gambling911.com
Originally published
October 1, 2006
12:10 am ET |