McDermott Pushing for Markup of Online Gambling Tax Bill

August 30, 2010 | News Category: Gaming Law

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Since the Barney Frank online gambling bill HR 2267 has received its markup, Congressman Jim McDermott now feels that the companion bill HR 4976 should also receive markup.

At this time, the Internet Gambling and Tax Enforcement Act of 2010 is still stuck in committee. The original bill regarding online gambling tax enforcement was numbered HR 2268, but has been amended, and renumbered as HR 4976. The bill has three co-sponsors, Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), John Larson (D-CT), and of course, Barney Frank (D-MA.)

This gambling taxation bill was referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Committee on Education and Labor. John Larson, one of the co-sponsors is the chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. The author of the bill, Jim McDermott, is trying to get HR 4976 to be marked up before this Congressional session is over.

The bill is obviously closely linked to HR 2267 because it deals with how the online gambling sites will be taxed, and how the division of taxation income will be carried out. Once the online gambling bill is being dealt with, it would make sense that taxation issues should also be dealt with.

It has been estimated by independent parties that once online gambling is legalized and regulated in the United States, it is expected to bring in billions of dollars over the next ten years or so, in revenue to the government on both a state and a federal level.

There are many who feel that it is important that the online gambling bill that Barney Frank authored should move through the process with a taxation bill. HR 2267 received markup recently, after a long wait, however it was debated and amended, and even ended up with another co-sponsor after this was done.

As much as McDermott is pushing, it seems that the bill is most likely only going to be dealt with after a long list of other projects which the House Ways and Means Committee is currently dealing with. Many committees are trying to wind down their workload and are now looking toward the break in October, in which they will begin to campaign for mid-term elections, which take place in November.

Many in the online gambling industry are keeping an eye on McDermott and on Sander Levin, the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, to see if McDermott manages to convince Levin to deal with HR 4976 sooner rather than later.