Friday, September 22, 2006

Senator Bill Frist attempted to attach the Internet Gambling Bill to a
Military Defense Bill but received much unexpected opposition and sources
say that attempt is now dead. Although the online gaming industry is
breathing another sigh of relief the fight is not over yet. Senator Frist,
from Iowa, is looking to run for president in 2008 and he is trying to
support what his conservatives in Iowa want done. They want internet
gambling banned and as such Frist will continue to fight through the end of
the year to attach the online gambling ban to some other bill that will be
sure to pass. Some sources say that this bill was his best chance at getting
the ban passed, others say that may be true, but when he tries to attach it
to another bill he will do so in a more quiet fashion as to not gain
attention from the internet gambling world who voiced very strong opposition
to his efforts. A week ago senators around the country received over 500
phone calls from the Poker Player Alliance, which is only one tenth of the
amount that actually tried to get through to senators. "Most opposition came
from those on the Armed Services Committee," said Jason Bailey, director of
development for the National Right for Online Gambling - the NROG has kept a
sharp eye on this case - "Senator Carl Levin (D-Mich.)," Bailey said, "and
Senator John Warner (R-Va.) were the two most influential, although it's
important to note there were several other key players that stopped him -
this time." The NROG encourages all online gamblers to continue calling in
opposition to any possible ban.