A bill to ban Internet gambling faces opposition in the US Senate but backers still hope to win passage of it within a few weeks, a top aide to US Senate majority leader Bill Frist said on Thursday.
Eric Ueland, Frist's chief of staff, said: "We are trying to get something done before the August recess," which is set to begin on 4 August.
Earlier on Thursday, another Frist aide said lawmakers are still working on the bill but will not be able to vote on it before the Senate heads off for its month-long vacation.
Ueland rejected that characterization, saying Frist had not given up on getting a vote before the August recess.
Backers of the legislation have been hoping to push it through the Senate this month following the arrest in the US of David Carruthers, the chief executive of BetOnSports, on charges of racketeering and conspiracy.
Carruthers is scheduled to appear at a hearing in US District Court in Fort Worth, Texas, on Friday to determine if he must remain in jail until his trial.
The Senate bill is virtually identical to legislation overwhelmingly approved earlier in July by the US House of Representatives. It would prohibit most forms of Internet gambling and make it illegal for banks and credit card companies to make payments to online gambling sites.
The Republican-backed bill has been criticized by some as an election-year appeal to the party's conservative base.
Supporters of a crackdown on Internet gambling say legislation is needed to clarify that a 1961 federal law banning sports betting also covers an array of online gambling.
i honestly don't think it will be voted on before the recess.that changing statement about trying to get it voted on seems to be a move on his part to make it look like he was at least trying to do something.
there has been reports that this will probably be the last time in a good while that the republicans have as much power as they do right now to influence this piece of junk through.......
Even if they make it through....it makes it illegal for cc companies and banks to charge online gambling websites. So...you do what is available now already. You use your cc to charge to a third-party provider, then you use that provider to fund your account.
Even if they make it through....it makes it illegal for cc companies and banks to charge online gambling websites. So...you do what is available now already. You use your cc to charge to a third-party provider, then you use that provider to fund your account.
It doesn't change anything.
Actually, the bill addresses that too.
Under the bill, third parties cannot be used to pay for online gambling.
i honestly don't think it will be voted on before the recess.that changing statement about trying to get it voted on seems to be a move on his part to make it look like he was at least trying to do something.
It's all smoke and mirrors. Election year fluff and little more. Do you know what politics means? Poly = Many, Ticks = Blood Sucking Insects.
Orangeman
OHoooooooooo......I'm shakin all over...
there has been reports that this will probably be the last time in a good while that the republicans have as much power as they do right now to influence this piece of junk through.......
Even if they make it through....it makes it illegal for cc companies and banks to charge online gambling websites. So...you do what is available now already. You use your cc to charge to a third-party provider, then you use that provider to fund your account.
It doesn't change anything.
Even if they make it through....it makes it illegal for cc companies and banks to charge online gambling websites. So...you do what is available now already. You use your cc to charge to a third-party provider, then you use that provider to fund your account.
It doesn't change anything.
Actually, the bill addresses that too.
Under the bill, third parties cannot be used to pay for online gambling.
You can see all about the bill here: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h109-4411