Saturday, November 11, 2006

Online gamblers miffed at recent federal legislation that seeks to block
Internet gambling were cheering after Representative Jim Leach, R-Iowa, the
sponsor of the anti-gaming legislation, was defeated in this week's
election. "A victory for Internet gambling as Jim Leach gets voted out,"
crowed Gambling911, a pro-gambling Web site, for instance. Leach had served
for 30 years as a congressman from Iowa. He was narrowly defeated by Dave
Loebsack, the Democratic Party challenger. Leach was the sponsor of HR 4411,
the bill that stops U.S. banks and credit card companies from accepting
payments for online gambling. "A lot of poker fans were lobbying against
Leach," said former New Jersey gaming regulator Frank Catania. "Poker
players have been organizing. They could eventually be a (lobbying) group
like the Sierra Club." Catania has spoken against banning online gaming
because, he says, it can't be prohibited; he favors regulating the business
instead of banning it outright. He also noted that citizens were betting
online in the recent election through online futures markets that enable
people to invest in futures contracts based on the outcome of elections. The
University of Iowa runs a popular futures site that enables visitors to bet
on the outcome of political elections. "It's basically Internet gambling,"
said Catania, who maintains that, like the Iowa University operation, there
are many ways for would-be gamblers to bet their wishes. Founded in 1988,
the Iowa futures site is one of many that enable online visitors to wager on
elections. Visitors are limited to $500 in an account. Catania said he
expects the new Democratic Congress to be more favorably disposed towards
online gambling.