A U.S. House subcommittee on Tuesday was urged to pull the plug on online gambling for the second time in less than two weeks.

The U.S. House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held hearings earlier this month to address the financial concerns associated with online gambling. At that time, credit card company Visa argued that it was not its responsibility to police online gambling.

Today's testimony saw some of the most vocal opponents of Internet wagering take the stage to argue that online gambling seriously threatens players and their finances.

Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) has been a critic of online gambling for several years. In today's testimony, he argued that offshore casino sites are "sucking billions of dollars out of the country" and financially ruining gamblers.

Rep. John LaFlace (D-NY), who is the ranking member of the subcommittee, commented that online gambling has "no redeeming social value."

Goodlatte and Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Az.) went on to urge the subcommittee to specifically target financial institutions when it is writing online gaming legislation. They argued for the need to prohibit credit- and debit card or checks from being used to pay for online gambling.

Kyl and Goodlatte are also pressing to have the Wire Act of 1961 revised. The act prohibits wagering over telephone lines, but both men believe new legislation that specifically targets online gambling is necessary.

This revision would, according to Goodlatte, strengthen any financial restrictions on online wagering. This new legislation could be introduced in Congress within a matter of weeks.

Goodlatte and Kyl have introduced similar legislation in recent years, but both bills failed to win the necessary support.

Stay tuned to WINNERonline for more details as this story continues to develop.

Digg

Del.icio.us

Reddit

StumbleUpon

Email this page to a friend
Go to the Message Boards
Contact the editor