By Laura Hills
Customizer → Monetisation → in_articleThe legality of sports gambling in the United States is a
fuzzy subject for many people given the different positions and points of view
regarding the law and what it actually means and what its true intention is. To
better understand this and hopefully get a better picture of the legal setting
surrounding sports betting, we have to take a look back at how this issue has
been handled in the past by the government.
The Interstate Wire Act issued in 1961 was one of the most
discussed documents in the matter of Internet Gambling. While the Act fails to
mention the Internet altogether (it had yet to be invented), it addresses
telephone or other wire-containing devices as means of sports gambling and
prohibits such activities. Many people cited this law and considered that it
did have a say in the Internet gambling activity. Other issues arose from the
Wire Act, such as if it involved all forms of gambling or only sports betting.
In 2002, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a ruling that dismissed a
lawsuit against credit card companies brought by online casino bettors. In the
dismissal, the court ruled the Wire Act was only pertinent to sporting events.
However, the United States Justice Department had a different opinion, claiming
that the Wire Act related to all forms of Internet gambling.
In 2006 and just before taking recess, the Congress passed
the SAFE Port Act, intended to increase security of U.S. Port, but attached to
it was the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, prohibiting Americans
from using credit cards, electronic funds transfers or checks to finance
Internet gambling activity. It is important to note that while the act only
dealt with how the Internet gambling accounts were funded and not the actual
betting.
In 2007, Rep. Barney Frank introduced the Internet
Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act, seeking to legalize Internet gambling,
and Rep. James McDermott introduced the Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax
Enforcement Act, which some called a companion bill to the one introduced by
Rep. Frank. Rep. McDermott’s bill deals with how to regulate online betting
sites and how to collect a tax on all wagers made. Pappas, the executive
director of the PPA, told members that they could expect to see Rep. Barney
Frank’s poker bill up for a committee vote as early as next month. “We expect
within a few short weeks, most likely in the month of February, there will be a
committee vote on this legislation,” said Pappas. “This will be the first time
— ever — that there will be a vote on licensing and regulation of Internet
poker and Internet gaming in general,” said Pappas.
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By Laura Hills
Writer for Price Per
Head