Responses to the Frank Bill - Republican Vs Democrat

May 14, 2009 | News Category: Gaming Law

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The new online casino bill is enjoying bipartisan support from both Democrats and Republicans, although there are those who are against the bill on both sides of the political spectrum.

Peter King, a Republican, is given credit on the new Internet casino bill as co-author. Peter King, along with other Republican leaders, such as Alphonse D'Amato and Ron Paul are all supporters of the bill. This only begins to show the bipartisan support to license and regulate Internet gambling sites.

There are of course those Republicans that are still very critical of online gambling, and have not changed their stand on the issues even after studies into problem gambling have been performed at Harvard, and shown different results to what they had expected.

Spencer Bachus, as a Republican Representative from Alabama, said "In fact, studies have shown that the earlier one begins gambling, the more likely it is he or she will become a compulsive problem gambler." Interestingly, the reverse was found to be true when studies were completed. The studies show that those exposed to gambling for the first time at a later age are more likely to have a gambling addiction.

Frank responded by saying that "The notion that a society should prohibit something entirely because of the possibility that children will abuse it is a terrible blow to liberty."

Although most Democrats are in favor of the Internet gambling bill, there are some that do not plan to help vote it into legislation. Nancy Pelosi, the US Senate House Speaker, does not agree with many of her constituents when it comes to this issue. Pelosi has publicly stated that she will not approve the possible new laws and regulations that are connected to licensing and regulating online casinos in the US. Her reason given for this lack of support of the bill are moral reasons.

Even though there is widespread Democratic support for the bill, being Democratic is not enough to expect a politician to vote for the online gambling bill. Although Pelosi has no plans to vote for the bill, there is still the slightest chance that she will do so if she needs to appease her Californian constituents.

There are a number of groups who represent the online gambling industry, and are helping to push for the legalization of Internet casinos in the United States. Supporters of the bill have put up $3 million which can be used by the Poker Players Alliance and similar groups in order to be able to continue their aggressive lobbying in Congress.