Comments (4) | Add a comment
Retiring lawmaker will continue Internet gaming push
-
Rep. Barney Frank
Tools
STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
WASHINGTON -- Rep. Barney Frank, whose long House career is coming to an end, said Tuesday he was optimistic Congress will approve one of his signature issues and allow people to gamble over the Internet.
Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat who announced this week he was not running for re-election in 2012, said online gambling will remain an important matter in the year remaining in his congressional career.
Ever since the Internet came to relevance about halfway through his 30 years in office, Frank has argued that people should be allowed personal freedom unencumbered by the government to use the Web as they see fit, if even to place wagers on games of chance.
At a wide-ranging news conference Tuesday, Frank said he would continue to promote gaming legislation, and he saw an opening for success because Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., the influential Senate majority leader, also has taken up the issue.
"I think there is a good chance that something will happen," said Frank, who does not gamble. "It is an important issue to me, and I intend to work on it.
"I think personal freedom is very important," Frank said. "I don't understand why I should tell somebody that he or she can't gamble."
Frank became a hero to gamblers when he advanced legislation to legalize and regulate Internet gaming as chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. He led the panel from 2007 until this year, when Republicans captured the House majority and installed gaming critic Spencer Bachus of Alabama as the new chairman.
An online gaming bill passed from Frank's committee in July 2010 but died at the end of the year.
Action on gaming since has shifted to the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Frank has reintroduced an online gambling bill with Rep. John Campbell, R-Calif., but also is supporting less sweeping legislation by Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, that would legalize online poker.
Frank's advocacy of Internet gambling "helped build the foundation for the online poker legislative proposals under consideration today," said John Pappas, executive director of the Poker Players Alliance.
Trending topics:
Comments
Terms & Conditions
The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsiblity of the authors. The Review-Journal does not review comments before publication nor guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by the comment policy. If you see a comment that violates the policy, please use the Report Abuse button.
Some comments may not display immediately due to an automatic filter. These comments will be reviewed within 24 hours. Please do not submit a comment more than once.
Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background.
RSS
Twitter
Facebook
Barney backed Ub and Poker Stars who donated money he says he will now return.Poker Stars stole millions when they started their company from the Government backed student Loan Program. The students because of Bots had no chance of winning.
Barney may be hearing foots Steps of the DOJ for the contributions. He never addressed contributions from Poker Players Alliance. I guess because it came from Canada he though it was ok.
Just because Barney Frank is for something the casino moguls are for also doesn't detract from the fact that he's a monster who caused millions of American's to lose trillions of dollars. Frank was and remains a low-life in his personal and political life and his championing on-line gambling doesn't change that one bit! All American's will be better off with him out of Congress except, maybe, his criminal boy friend who used Frank's clout to get away from being prosecuted.
Barney & Harry say thank you to all the friends who donated money to help push the internet poker deal, Who will get the Boston gaming lic.? The company who pays the most, Caesars will we see a IPO if the poker deal does not go through?
Barny Rbbles and Harry Greed and Obummer must be making tons and tons of money if this passes, but there`s a good probability it`ll kill substantial amount of tourist business for Vegas why bother coming to Vegas to gamble as it is there`s enough competition already with China and Regional Casinos,5 fold profits in Macau than in Nevada. they even just approved 3 Vegas style casinos in Mass. Dirty Harry must be really getting senile trying to lose business for Vegas . Obummer maybe happy since he frowns on Vegas except fund raising.