House of Representatives Challenges UIGEA

Barney Frank had made adjustments to his bill regarding internet gambling and the bill was voted through by the Financial Services Committee.

Barney Frank's bill was originally called the Payments System Protection Act, PSPA, and now listens to the high-sounding name of HR 6870.

Its purpose is to guarantee the UIGEA doesn't injury the country's financial institutions. The UIGEA aims at preventing online gaming by stopping banks credit card companies from transferring money to online gambling sites.

After nearly two years, UIGEA still hasn't taken effect due to the great difficulties in implementing the concrete regulations. By introducing his bill, Frank hopes to put an end to UIGEA before it has been able to do any harm.

The bill was passed in a full, recorded vote resulting in a 30-19 score in favor of the bill.

The most outspoken opponent of Frank's bill, Republican Spencer Bachus, claimed that to allow online gambling would be comparable to opening a casino in a child's bedroom. He underlined that credit cards make facilitates overspending.

That's certainly a valid point, but Poker Junkie continues to retort: what does poker have to do with all this? Poker isn't gambling.