Banks don't want anti-internet gambling bill, libraries don't want MySpace

Hey, Jenny Woo here and boy is my head hurting after my first night here in beautiful Costa Rica.  Lucky I got here after waking up only two hours before my flight.  Yes, I got up at 5 pm.

Here is what we talked about last night in between shots of Tequila with the boys from Bodog.com, Juan from Sportsbook.com and Dave from Sportsbook Review.

Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) has again called on Congress to re-examine provisions in the Internet Gambling Prohibition and Enforcement Act (H.R. 4411) recently passed by the House of Representatives that require banks and other financial institutions to assist in halting the flow of gambling deposits to online gambling venues. 

I bet ya didn't think Jenny could use such big words while suffering a massive hangover did you?
 
ICBA spokesmen said that the measure could greatly over-burden the nation's payment system....and monitoring the payments made to gambling interests may be impossible.

Sorta like me with my editor's credit card!
 
"ICBA recognizes the concerns that some of your colleagues have raised about Internet gambling," ICBA wrote in a letter to Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby and Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter. "We urge Congress to recognize that the nation's banks have already taken on major responsibilities to help detect and prevent terrorist financing and illegal money laundering. Attempting to monitor and block gambling transactions, particularly given the limits of the current payment technology, could detract from those efforts."

Now if you think a bill to ban online gambling is crazy, check this out.

Jenny loves MySpace.  There is actually a bill pending to ban MySpace from public libraries.  I wasn't alive during the Paul McCarthney era when they were going after alleged communists but why do I suddenly feel like de je vu.

Anyway, a near-unanimous vote in the U.S. House of Representatives may soon make social networking sites and chat rooms inaccessible in public locations such as libraries and schools, however its broad wording may end up shuttering access to many sites that do not pose a threat to minors....like, errrr, Gambling911.com. 

Geeesh you'd think these politicians would have better things to do with their time.  Well, maybe not.

Essentially, this would mean sites such as Gambling911, which allows commenting on its articles, could be locked out and the little kiddies won't be able to read my Jenny Woo Blog.  WTF???

By the way, I want to comment right now that Rebecca "Liquorio" Liggero of Casino City Times is a bigger lush than I am.  She drank us all under the table last night.  God, I've been under the table a lot this past week.  No comment. 

Other sites that would be targeted include Amazon.com, which allows its customers to post profiles; Web logs such as Engadget, which allows interaction between users; and blog services such as Blogger, MSN Spaces and Yahoo! 360 which allow the posting of personal information will all be banned.

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Jenny Woo, www.gambling911.com

Originally published August 7, 2006 12:13 pm EDT