Will New Gambling Tax Bill Fund Foster Care?

March 28, 2010 | News Category: Gaming Law

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Barney Frank’s online gambling bill, HR 2268, is still waiting in the wings, with no clear date that it will be dealt with by Congress. At this stage, even though the health care reform bill has finally been dealt with, even Barney Frank is not sure if the online gambling bill will be considered before the June 1st deadline, when the UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) will be adopted as law, if there are no official changes before that time.

Congressman Jim McDermott, however, has authored and introduced a new bill regarding the issue of online gambling, which is numbered HR 4976. The bill currently has three co-sponsors, one of which is Barney Frank. The other two co-sponsors are John Larson and Earl Blumenauer.

McDermott’s bill intends that a portion of the taxation revenue that is received from online gambling will be used in connection with those who are in, or have been in foster care programs. The bill proposed using 25 percent of this tax income pay for housing and social programs of those that area in foster care, as well as job training and educational opportunities for those who are in, or were in, foster care.

The new online gambling bill also stipulates that 6 percent of online gambling revenue should be given to Native American tribes.

It is unclear as to whether this new bill from McDermott will receive the kind of welcome that Barney Frank’s bill received, since McDermott has been quite specific as to where large portions of the taxation income should go. While the cause is good, it may or may not be one that will help the bill to gain popularity.

Barney Frank’s bill, which proposes to regulate online gambling, has 66 co-sponsors. At this time, the bill, which is awaiting markup, is still sitting in the House Financial Services Committee, which is Barney Frank’s committee.

McDermott explained that one of the main reasons that he revised his original bill was so that it can be made "possible for states to have access to online gambling revenue."

The figures that have been projected by McDermott’s office show that the new bill could possibly raise more than $30 billion in revenue over a ten year period, that would go to individual states, and around $42 billion that would go towards the foster care programs.

McDermott plans to present his bill once HR2268 finishes markup.