| U.S. Democrat Congressman Barney Frank from Massachusetts was a success early this week as his new measure, (D-MA), the Payments System Protection Act of 2008 (H.R. 6870), passed a committee on a 30-19 vote. That is, Frank’s new attempt in limiting and clarifying the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) got a nice start. The bill has passed the committee despite objections from American professional sports leagues and the ever-lasting anti-gambling campaign led in this committee.
Generally speaking, H.R. 6870 bill aims at restricting UIGEA to sports betting and other activities already explicitly banned by the U.S. federal legislation. Sports’ betting websites are supposed to be blocked within 60 days of the bill's becoming law. Furthermore, the bill requires both agencies responsible for UIGEA oversight, namely, the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve, work out the criteria for legal and illegal gambling according to the U.S. laws.
U.S. Poker Players Alliance (PPA) has expressed their support and approval to H.R. 6870, as they see it right that UIGEA becomes “immediately effective for such internet gambling that is clearly unlawful, namely sports betting."
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