US Treasury, Fed Delay Compliance For Internet Gambling Law
By Darrell A. Hughes, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- The U.S. Treasury Department and Federal Reserve have
delayed by six months compliance with the federal government's policies
concerning Internet gambling, the agencies said in a joint statement Friday.
Treasury and the Fed received a petition from three gambling industry
associations in September, requesting that the compliance date for the Unlawful
Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 be extended by 12 months. Those
interest groups said "a signigicant number of regulated entities will not have
in place the necessary policies and procedures" by the initial Dec. 1 compliance
date, according to the release.
The effective date of the regulation remains unchanged at Jan. 19, 2009, with
the compliance date now being June 1, 2010. The law implements a ban on credit-
card companies or other institutions from processing payments for online
cyberbetting, among other provisions.
Nonetheless, Treasury and the Fed said six months, not 12, are sufficient for
regulated entities to address issues related to the definition of unlawful
Internet gambling.
According to the joint release, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.)
and House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank (D., Mass.), among other
lawmakers, sent letters expressing concern that the law does not contain a clear
definition of "unlawful Internet gambling."
Several members of Congress said there is "considerable interest" in "
clarifying the laws underlying Internet gambling," the agenices said.
On the contrary, Sen. Jon Kyl (R., Ariz.) and Rep. Spencer Bachus (R., Ala.)
opposed the extention, for reasons related to "the specualtive nature of the
problems raised by petitioners, the associations and other interest groups," the
agencies' release said.
Still, the Fed and Treasury said they are "persuaded that a limited extension
of the compliance date for regulated entities is appropriate."
Opponents of online gambling say such activity would promote gambling
addictions and attract minors.
However, federal law prohibits illegal gambling, but gambling regulations vary
from state to state. Critics of the ban say the laws remain murky and are
sometimes contradicted by state laws.
-By Darrell A. Hughes, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6684; darrell.hughes@
dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
11-27-091215ET
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