Report: Harry Reid Behind-The-Scenes Work to Push Online Gambling Bill Through

Gambling911.com has learned that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was meeting with individuals in Washington, D.C. for “high level” discussions on how to push through a bill that would legalize online gambling at the federal level. 

“He (Reid) wants to push this bill through but I don’t see him standing any chance of succeeding,” a source familiar with the Reid meeting told Gambling911.com on Tuesday. 

Reid himself has flip flopped when it comes to his stand on legalized Internet gambling prior to Election Day, where he just barely managed to retain his majority Senate seat.  Back in August, Reid expressed support for legislation that passed through a House Subcommittee over the summer, though he vowed to only support online poker. Later, in order to satisfy some of his constituents in Las Vegas, Reid suggested he would not support such legislation.  Over the past two months, Reid has sent mixed signals.

The online poker legislation was authored by the current House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, but even he has expressed doubts that such a bill would pass during the lame duck session of Congress. 

“I’m not optimistic,” Frank said back in September, noting the cramped House floor schedule.

Frank’s bill, H.R. 2267, would amend title 31, United States Code, to provide for the licensing of Internet gambling activities by the Secretary of the Treasury, to provide for consumer protections on the Internet, to enforce the tax code, and for other purposes.

- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com