Last Chance For US Online Gambling Bill As Lame-Duck Session Begins

Millions of online gamblers across the US will watch patiently over the next couple of weeks as the lawmakers in Washington take one final stab at making changes to US laws in 2010. The lame-duck session began in Congress on Monday, giving online poker players one final hope.

The current laws in the US regarding online gambling are largely a product of a lame-duck session back in 2006. A Republican majority Congress pushed through the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act on the heels of a border protection bill. It was a shady way to get the law passed, but not a tactic that has not been used before.

Now, Democrats in the House and Senate can return the favor if they can push through Representative Barney Frank's online gambling legislation in the final months of their majority. Republicans will gain control of the House in the new year.

If no legislation is passed, an online gambling regulation bill would likely have to be initiated by the Senate in 2011. In the first day of the lame-duck session Monday, the buzz surrounding Washington was more about tax cuts and new leadership positions for the new year.

As the week wears on, outgoing legislators may start to push bills that will not see the light of day in 2011. While Rep. Frank is not part of the outgoing group, he has been around long enough to understand that it will be nearly impossible for his bill to succeed once the Republicans gain the majority in the House in January.

Frank has commented in recent months that he does not think the legislation will be passed in 2010, but a last minute change of heart is always a possibility. If Frank can find a jobs bill that will be voted on in the next month, he may try to attach the online gambling legislation.

Online poker players will become the biggest losers if the current laws do not change. Online players are now, by the millions, flocking to foreign-based websites to play poker. These sites are not regulated or licensed by the US, leaving these millions of US residents at the mercy of the foreign companies.

I think you'll find the foreign based gaming sites open to US business are closer than you think to home. Look across the border into the Canadian Indian reserve (Mohawks of Kahnawake) and then down south to Costa Rica and Caribbean. They don't have to travel too far to shut down operations if they want to!