The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Staffers for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid have been circulating new legislation that would amend the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act and provide for licensing of internet poker with consumer protections and strong regulatory oversight. The legislation would overturn the ban on processing of online-gambling transactions by financial institutions and permit existing casinos, horse tracks and slot-machine makers to operate online poker websites. Under the proposed legislation, oversight would fall to state regulators, but tax revenue from the online poker sites would flow to both federal and state governments. Republican leaders of the House committees of Financial Services, Judiciary and Ways & Means opposed the legislation in a recent letter addressed to Senator Reid and Senate Minority Leader McConnell. A copy of the full Wall Street Journal Article can be found here. A copy of the letter from the House Republican committee members is available here.
