House Judiciary Subcommittee Approves Anti-Internet Gambling Act

A house judiciary subcommittee unanimously approved an anti-gambling bill that would criminalize online gambling. This is the first big hurdle the bill needed to leap in order to keep its hopes of being passed alive.

The Internet Gambling Prohibition Act would make it illegal for financial institutions to work with online gambling sites. It would also force the institutions to work with the federal government in attempting to prosecute offshore gaming institutions. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.).

The subcommittee moved the bill forward despite concerns expressed by Sam Vallandingham, the vice president of the First State Bank in West Virginia. He spoke for the members of the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) as a member of the organization's Payments and Technology Committee.

He told judiciary members at the hearing in early April that the ICBA believes that if the burden of enforcing the Gambling Prohibition Act fell to the banks, it would drain the institutions' finite resources that are now used to comply with antiterrorism and anti-money laundering regulations. It would also interfere with the daily operations of banks around the country.

Meanwhile, Goodlatte claimed during the hearing that online gambling helps terrorists by giving them a way to launder money, among other reasons, and therefore, his bill is another way to fight terrorism.

This is Goodlatte's third attempt at getting a version of this bill passed. In 1999, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime also approved the legislation, but the bill died before it made it to the House floor.

This is the first of many steps a bill needs to take before it even gets close to becoming law. The subcommittee moved the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act forward last week by a voice vote, which was how it moved forward last time.

For a thorough explanation of the bill, please visit CardPlayer.com's article here.

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