Thought some of you would like to read this article if you haven't seen it.


"New move to legalise online gambling
By Roger Blitz in London

Published: February 4 2009 02:00 | Last updated: February 4 2009 02:00

A top US Democrat is launching an offensive to roll back legislation against online gambling passed under the Bush administration, saying the climate is ripe for Congress to unlock restraints that are "impinging" on the freedom of Americans.

Barney Frank, chairman of the House financial services committee, told the Financial Times he would reintroduce a bill in the next few weeks to establish a licensing and regulatory framework for online gambling operators.

Mr Frank said he also expected anti-gambling regulations, rushed through in the dying weeks of the Bush administration, to be included among the measures Congress will look to rescind.

A Democrat-led Congress and a more liberal political climate is persuading the Massachusetts congressman to make his twin-pronged assault on an issue that he said bore similarities to prohibition in the 1920s and 30s.

Congress passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in 2006, which tightened the laws against online gambling, forcing the exodus of listed companies operating in the US. At the same time, the Department of Justice began to arrest executives of some of these companies at airports and put them in court.

Mr Frank said: "I expect an Obama DoJ to be less zealous about locking people up. These outrageous arrests in transit - they should be stopping that stuff."

The UIGEA regulations, which make it illegal for financial institutions to process online gambling transactions, became final on January 19, but do not need to be implemented until December.

Mr Frank said the prospects for his bill, which was discussed in the last session of Congress but never voted on, were greater because public opinion was demanding the right to gamble online."

From:-

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b12d02e8-f...0779fd2ac.html

Pretty good news imo.

ty god this isn't another G911 story :-)

holy ****ing ****.

in before paaaaaaarty poker@!!@!@!@!@!@!!!!!!!!!!1

my canadian fingers are crossed.

As are my UK fingers.

As are the fingers of the whole poker community. CHANGE!

Will this be a return to the Party days that many of us never experienced??? Likely not to that extent but certainly should soften the games up a bit

I don't think it will even be close

Commmee ONnnnn Barnyyyy!

Interesting Americans will be back soon.
party poker is a desolate site at the moment.

HaHaHa

This is the whole thing. Although this is obviously good for poker I think that to expect the games to be suddenly be flooded with donks at all levels is unrealistic

not that unrealistic if they keep running Moneymaker and Gold's wins on espn and amp up the poker commercials.

I don't know that everyone would immediately flood back to Party.

Isn't it fair to assume that because Stars and FTP now have such a big market share that if they were to suddenly start advertising that players in the US could deposit directly by credit card and neteller, everyone would just be playing there?

I think if poker were legalised in US, its assumed it would work like Vegas - only operators that have been 'clean' the whole time would be allowed in. I assume Party left because they assume they can one day return, whereas Stars and FTP cannot.