Internet Gambling Regulation Bill reaches 50 co-sponsors

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- We are pleased to report that there are now 50 members of Congress signed on as co-sponsors of the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act (H.R. 2267),
The Senate is reviewing a bill that would legalize some forms of Internet gambling.  legislation introduced by Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services.

"Reaching this milestone illustrates that momentum is growing for a shift in U.S. policy and a rewrite of U.S. Internet gambling laws," said Jeffrey Sandman, spokesperson for the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative. "The list of supporters will continue to grow as more representatives are educated on the subject and increasingly hear from their constituents that Internet gambling regulation presents the only viable way to protect consumers, since attempts to prohibit the activity have completely failed. We also expect an increased spotlight on Internet gambling as a way to augment federal revenues and help cover the cost of necessary policy initiatives."

Among the bipartisan group of 50 co-sponsors are many senior ranking representatives, including George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor, John Conyers (D-MI), chairman of the Committee of the Judiciary, Charles Rangel (D-NY), chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, Edolphus Towns (D-NY), chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Pete King (R-NY), ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee and Ron Paul (R-TX), vice-chairman of the Oversight and Investigations subcommittee. (A complete list of co-sponsors is included below.)

Rep. Frank's bill would establish a framework to permit licensed gambling operators to accept wagers from individuals in the U.S. and mandates a number of significant consumer protections, including safeguards against compulsive and underage gambling, money laundering, fraud and identify theft. Additional provisions in the legislation reinforce the rights of each state to determine whether to allow Internet gambling activity for people accessing the Internet within the state and to apply other restrictions on the activity as determined necessary. The legislation also would allow states and Native American tribes with experience in regulating gambling to play a role in the regulatory process.

An analysis shows that collecting taxes on regulated Internet gambling would allow the U.S. to capture much-needed revenue in an amount ranging from $48.6 billion (excluding online sports gambling) to $62.7 billion (including online sports gambling) over the next decade.

The following is a complete list of Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act (H.R. 2267) co-sponsors:

Alaska

· Don Young (R At-Large)

Arizona

· Raul Grijalva (D 7th)

California

· Michael Thompson (D 1st)
· George Miller (D 7th)
· Michael Honda (D 15th)
· Linda Sanchez (D 39th)
· Bob Filner (D 51st)

Colorado

· Jared Polis (D 2nd)
· Ed Perlmutter (D 7th)

Connecticut

· Joe Courtney (D 2nd)

Florida

· Robert Wexler (D 19th)
· Alcee Hastings (D 23rd)

Hawaii

· Neil Abercrombie (D 1st)

Idaho

· Walt Minnick (D 1st)

Illinois

· Luis Gutierrez (D 4th)
· Bill Foster (D 14th)

Indiana

· Andre Carson (D 7th)

Massachusetts

· James McGovern (D 3rd)
· Barney Frank (D 4th)
· Michael Capuano (D 8th)
· William Delahunt (D 10th)

Michigan

· John Conyers (D 14th)

Nevada

· Shelley Berkley (D 1st)

New Hampshire

· Paul Hodes (D 2nd)

New Jersey

· Robert Andrews (D 1st)
· Frank LoBiondo (R 2nd)
· John Adler (D 3rd)
· Steven Rothman (D 9th)

New York

· Tim Bishop (D 1st)
· Steve Israel (D 2nd)
· Peter King (R 3rd)
· Carolyn McCarthy (D 4th)
· Gary Ackerman (D 5th)
· Joseph Crowley (D 7th)
· Jerrold Nadler (D 8th)
· Edolphus Towns (D 10th)
· Mike McMahon (D 13th)
· Charles Rangel (D 15th)
· Paul Tonko (D 21st)

North Carolina

· Melvin Watt (D 12th)

Ohio

· Steve Driehaus (D 1st)
· Tim Ryan (D 17th)

Oregon

· Earl Blumenauer (D 3rd)

Tennessee

· Steve Cohen (D 9th)

Texas

· Ron Paul (R 14th)
· Ciro Rodriguez (D 23rd)

Virginia

· Bobby Scott (D 3rd)
· Tom Perriello (D 5th)
· James Moran (D 8th)

Washington

· Jim McDermott (D 7th)