Berkley Introduces Legislation Calling for Comprehensive Study on Internet Gaming
Independent Analysis Will Look at Regulation, Technology, Current Ban on Net Bets
U.S. Representative Shelley Berkley (D-NV) today [May 3, 2007] introduced bipartisan legislation calling for an independent study on questions relating to Internet gaming. The study, to be conducted by the highly respected National Academy of Sciences (NAS), will be the basis for a report to lawmakers on a wide range of issues that involve Internet gaming, including advances in technology, regulation in other countries, and the impact of the current federal on-line gambling ban in the United States. The bill is cosponsored by Rep. Jon Porter (R-NV), who co-chairs the Congressional Gaming Caucus along with Berkley.
"Whether or not they approve of on-line gambling, there is no reason for Members of Congress not to support an independent study on this issue. Once this year long examination is complete, Congress can look to its findings for answers about the question of regulation and ways to address issues of concern, such as technology to prevent underage gambling," said Berkley. "I have always said that individuals must be free to choose whether or not they want to gamble, be it on the Las Vegas Strip or on-line, but I also recognize that Congress needs clear guidance on how to deal with this issue when it comes to the Internet. This study will provide us with that blueprint. As Congress moves to address on-line gaming in the future this study will give us the facts and the tools we need to make important choices."
"The AGA commends Reps. Shelley Berkley (D-NV) and Jon Porter (R-NV) for introducing legislation to study Internet gambling. Their bill, directing the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences to provide a comprehensive review of this issue, is in line with our board's position on Internet gambling and is a responsible step in the right direction," said American Gaming Association President and CEO Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr.
The Internet Gambling Study Act calls for the National Research Council—an arm of the NAS—to conduct a comprehensive study of Internet gambling, including the existing legal framework that governs such activities and transactions and the impact of the current Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act on Internet gambling in the United States. Upon conclusion of the study, the National Research Council will submit to the President, the Congress, State Governors, and Native American tribal governments a comprehensive report on their findings and conclusions.
Topics covered by the study will include:
A review of existing federal, state, tribal, local, and international laws governing various forms of wagering over the Internet, the effectiveness of such laws, and the extent to which such provisions of law conform or do not conform with each other;
An assessment of the proliferation of Internet gambling, including an analysis of its availability and use within the United States;
A determination of the impact of Internet gambling on minors and compulsive gamblers and the availability of regulatory and technological safeguards to prevent or mitigate these impacts;
A determination of the extent to which terrorists and criminal enterprises are utilizing Internet gambling for fraud and money laundering purposes and the availability of regulatory and technological safeguards to prevent or mitigate these impacts;
An assessment of the impact of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act on the availability and use within the United States of Internet gambling, and on the adverse effects of Internet gambling;
An assessment of recent technological innovations and the practices of other nations and international bodies that license and regulate Internet gambling, and the practicality of using similar systems to establish a legal framework in the United States;
An analysis of the issues of federalism that are presented by legislative and administrative proposals designed to address the proliferation of illegal Internet gambling, given the interstate and international character of the Internet as a medium, and the potential for state and tribal governments to create a legal and regulatory framework for online gambling within their jurisdictions or among those jurisdictions where online gambling is legal;
An assessment of the problems posed by unregulated international Internet gambling to United States interests and the potential means, if any, by which the federal government may seek international cooperation in addressing these concerns;
An analysis of the potential impact of recent World Trade Organization rulings regarding Internet gambling and the long-term impact on existing and future United States trade agreements under the General Agreement on Trade and Services;
An analysis of the potential tax revenue that could be generated by a legal, licensed, regulated Internet gambling industry in the United States.
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