Barney Frank, the House Financial Services Committee Chairman, said he will introduce a bill this Thursday to lift a ban on online gambling.
The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was signed into law back in October 2006 when President George W. Bush signed legislation outlawing financial institutions from knowing processing online gambling transactions.
"Why anyone thinks it is any of my business why some adult wants to gamble is absolutely beyond me," Frank told a community bankers group conference.
In a letter to President George W. Bush, Arizona Senator Jon Kyl bragged about wiping out over $7 billion in market capitalization from AIM listed publicly traded gaming companies. Kyl’s actions and UIGEA bothered the European Union which is home to several online gambling firms that were forced to withdraw from the United States. After a visit from Frank earlier this month, the EU internal market chief Charlie McCreevy hinted he may challenge the ban at the World Trade Organization.
