The House Financial Services Committee passed a bill last month that would mandate unlawful Internet gambling be defined before additional steps can be taken to implement the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.

The Payments System Protection Act cleared the committee on a 30-19 vote, sending it to the House floor for a full vote. Whether the vote is scheduled before Congress adjourns or not, it is expected to help build momentum in the effort to roll back the UIGEA.

The bill directs the Department of the Treasury and Federal Reserve System to work with the attorney general to appoint a special administrative law judge to define the types of online gaming transactions that are proscribed by the UIGEA, and to conduct an economic impact study into the costs of compliance.

The bill was introduced by Committee Chairman Barney Frank after a number of banks expressed concern that enforcing the UIGEA would be extremely burdensome, if not nearly impossible. They said the UIGEA lacked any clear definition of what constituted unlawful online wagering.

“I still want to change the law,” Frank said. “This isn’t everything I want.”

The legislation is Frank’s second attempt to clarify the UIGEA. The first attempt failed in June after the committee deadlocked on a 32-32 vote.

By Casino Connection Staff

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