Will Congress Ever Authorize Online Gaming?

March Madness is now upon us.  Today marked the end of the first round of the NIT, the NCAA's warm-up act to the opening round of the NCAA.  Thursday afternoon, the Big Show kicks off and for the next three weeks, Americans young and old will have found an escape from the seemingly endless stories about the state of healthcare reform.  There is also another side to these three weeks.  

You see, it's the time when millions of otherwise law-abiding, taxpaying Americans commit criminal acts with abandon.  All those office pools you entered at $10 a pop - technically violate federal laws against interstate wagering or state laws against wagering and federal laws about gambling on amateur sporting events.  Yet, unlike the Super Bowl, most police departments, look the other way.  "We aren't actively looking for these things, " said Illinois Deputy Police Chief Theo Glover, as reported in CasinoGamblingWeb.com.  Hope may be on the way, however.

Congressman Barney Frank has introduced HR2267 Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act to legalize, regulate and tax online poker and gaming, but importantly, NOT, and I'll say it again, NOT, sports betting.  Chairman Frank's bill has picked up 66 sponsors and appears headed to a committee markup in the next few weeks. It also recently has attracted some new opposition from the politically powerful, but before now on the sidelines, Native Americans lobby. Which really isn't all that surprising, as they would be afraid their land based franchise could be affected, according to one of the prime casino news sites on the web, Online Casino Advisory.

States have begun to take matters into their own hands.  Florida is considering legalizing intrastate online poker.  New Jersey has authorized the President of the Senate to file suit against the federal government alleging that the exemption of Nevada, Delaware, Oregon and Montana from the federal prohibition on sports betting violates the 10th and 14th amendments to the US Constitution by unfairly discriminating against New Jersey.  An interesting and compelling argument and one which could also be applied to the online gaming arena where online betting on horse racing is permitted but all other forms of sports betting are prohibited.  

How this will all shake out is anybody's guess. If you enjoy online betting or poker playing, be sure to keep your account well funded by June 1, as the suspension of the enforcement of UIGEA will expire then.  If the situation has not been clarified or Chairman Frank's bill has not been passed by then, it may become very difficult to fund offshore accounts, unless the money being used to fund them is already offshore. As Boy Scouts say, Be Prepared.