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Frank To Push For Repeal Of Internet Gambling Ban

from the busted-out dept

Fri, Feb 20th 2009 4:30pm — Carlo Longino

Congressman Barney Frank will apparently soon introduce legislation to repeal the US ban on online gambling, as the EU looks like it's preparing to push the WTO to take action against the ban. Along with being ineffective and useless, the ban falls foul of WTO regulations, and could lead to the US being subject to punishments from the organization. It sounds as though the WTO would like to give the US government the chance to sort out the illegal ban on its own before taking action on a complaint about it. Though, even with the changed political climate in the US, it remains to be seen if the repeal could stick. It's also really hard to see how a ban on online gambling, and forcing financial institutions to police it, remains preferable to a well-regulated environment that protects consensual bettors. Hopefully US politicians will agree.

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Filed Under: barney frank, gambling, online gambling

19 Comments

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Hot Bottom, 21 Feb 2009 @ 6:26am

Look, I've given Barney the best BJ he ever had but he's wrong. The US should keep the ban and tell the Eurotrash to stick it, although Barney would probably enjoy that.

This is just a symptom of how US law is being co-opted by the left faggots of the US.
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Anonymous Coward, 21 Feb 2009 @ 7:12am

Dats not wight. Be nice to Bauney Fwank!
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Dave, 21 Feb 2009 @ 7:23am

Resign from WTO
Maybe its time we resign from the WTO. What's next? If the Eurotrash decide they want to legalize pot, cocaine, and maybe Murder, Inc., does that mean we have to repeal our laws against these things too?

Who the hell is running this country now, anyway? Berlin?
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Anonymous Coward, 21 Feb 2009 @ 7:29am

Re: Resign from WTO
Actually, you bring up a good point.
Legalizing pot has the potential to generate large amounts of tax income and at the same time reduce street crime.
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Anonymous Coward, 21 Feb 2009 @ 8:55am

Need to re-visit acceptable collection practices and FDCPA
It looks like Citibank is gearing up for a full-blown attack of selling deceased accounts to third party collectors. And why not? Because when your dead, your deeds should outlive you. Why not harass the family of the living?

Does anyone else find this disturbing? It explains why banks don't understand why people despise them. Collecting money from the deceased is truly playing in Satan's Sandbox!

If they don't see anything morally wrong with collecting from beyond the the dead, I wonder what atrocities they are doing to the living.
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Nick, 21 Feb 2009 @ 9:02am

what about the artists?
Actually, doing away with this gambling ban would vindicate the rights of artists here in America. Remember that because of the US ban on internet gambling exempts horse racing (eg. OTB), the WTO has ruled that the nation of Antigua is entitled to use American copyrighted works without paying any royalties as a means of trade retaliation. In essence, the government traded away the personal rights of its citizens to support the horse racing industry. Antigua may be too small for some to worry about, but Brazil has been making noise that it will seek similar WTO sanctioned trade retribution over US cotton (I believe) tariffs. We can quibble about the merits of a body like the WTO and whether the US should be a member, but the current reality is that this bill threatens the livelihood of American artists and creators and either the entire bill should be scrapped, or the exemption for horse racing should be canceled.
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Anonymous Coward, 21 Feb 2009 @ 9:57am

Re: Re: Resign from WTO
And, if you think that's true, I'd say you've been on the bong too long Michael Phelps.

Prostitution can be taxed too, but who wants to live next door to a whorehouse? It's bad enough having damn tattoo parlors around.

If that's what you want for the society you live in, go to Sweden. They have an open drug policy. Yeah, it's a fine way to live.
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Anonymous Coward, 21 Feb 2009 @ 10:00am

Re: what about the artists?
Well, the way Reagan would have handled this would be to resign from the WTO, and impose trade sanctions against any country that retaliates against the US. When their markets for produce, sugar or whatever dry up, then we can have a real trade policy that works for everyone, not just the banana republics and their dictators.
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Michael Clouser, 21 Feb 2009 @ 10:49am

Online Gambling
The WTO is right and should put pressure on the US government to stop this illegal ban.

Banning online gambling in this Country of ours, supposedly a free one, is ridiculous. And the reason is that States are afraid to lose lottery and other gambling revenues.

While we are at it, let's legalize cannibus as well. Another archaic ban of prohabition.
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Gene Cavanaugh, 21 Feb 2009 @ 11:25am

Online gambling, etc.
RIGHT ON, Carl!
Remember, "those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it".
We banned alcohol in Prohibition, and organized crime took root - they are entrenched now. We banned prostitution, and the fact that it is not regulated is a serious health problem. We banned marijuana (which is not as serious a threat as (legal) hard liquor) and enriched the criminals that are now a serious problem in both Mexico and the US.
Do you think we will ever learn?
My take on it is that ever since Reagan told us it is okay to "think with your heart" (translation: turn your brain off) we as a nation have been spiraling downward.
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Anonymous Coward, 22 Feb 2009 @ 2:13am

Re: Re: Re: Resign from WTO
Ah, quite an amazaing discredit to Michael Phelps there. Mind if I ask how many Gold Medals you have?

You are an amazing testament to why this once useful blog is going downhill. Get a life.

Also, Sweden has strict laws regarding said contraband. Please think before you type. The country you probably meant was the Netherlands?

But because you've never been out of the country, you probably couldn't tell the difference.
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Anonymous Coward, 22 Feb 2009 @ 12:08pm

It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! No! it’s a… Hostel?!
Swedes are crazy.

http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/02/11/reclaimed-jumbo-jet-hotel-in-stockholm/
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Peter Thomas, 23 Feb 2009 @ 3:22am

Re:
I see.

Restricting free market business is "left wing". Yeah, that makes sense.

And breaking international law is something the US is to be proud of?

You make such sense.

From Peter the European.
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Darren Tan, 23 Feb 2009 @ 3:50am

Interesting...
Interesting measure... But the Internet is too wide, hard to implement it. Some people see gambling as entertainment, taking gambling away from them is a big NO!

Cheers!
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free bet, 23 Feb 2009 @ 9:46am

prohibit and promote terrorism
By prohibiting you are basically making Americans play at non regulated terrorist owned casinos therefore directly fomenting terrorism. Just regulate it and be done with it.
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player, 23 Feb 2009 @ 3:01pm

Poker tournaments should be lagal
Online poker and specially poker tournaments should be left out of this ban.
poker is a skill game and yet it is regarded like other casino games as a game of luck.
Anyway, prohibition is not the answer. U.S. players can easily play at poker rooms like poker stars, which by the way, became the leading online poker room thanks to this law.
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MJ NC, 28 Mar 2009 @ 1:59pm

Just do it
The reality is every day millions of American's gamble online, and over 60% all bets placed are from our country. The government has tried to prohibit this for years and the industry has done nothing but grow. The current legislation is worthless because the sheer volume of customers makes it impossible to effectively prohibit. We have lost hundreds of millions in tax revenues because all online operators are in the caribbean already, why don't we make sure some of that money stays home?
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Jim Tressor, 17 Jul 2009 @ 8:49am

Ban
I don't think a ban is very feasible, especially when there are so many international gambling sites. Here is an interesting article on how European governments are trying to crack down on some of the internet gambling, though: http://www.mindreign.com/en/mindshare/Global-Economics/Government-Hold-Em/sl35291137bp321cpp10pn1.ht ml
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soccer, 1 Nov 2009 @ 10:29pm

ban
An artist in my eyes, is someone who can lighten up a dark room. I have never and will never find difference between the pass from Pele to Carlos Alberto in the final of the World Cup in 1970 and the poetry of the young Rimbaud, who stretches cords from steeple to steeple and garlands from window to window.
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