Bill could bring in US online betting.

Byline: David Ashforth

A WINDOW of opportunity into the gigantic US betting market potentially opened for online gaming companies yesterday, when proposals to legalise online gaming and stay the implementation of the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act were unveiled.

Barney Frank, chairman of the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, announced the introduction of an Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Bill to establish a federal regulatory and enforcement framework under which licensed operators, agreeing to be subject to US jurisdiction, would be permitted to accept bets from US residents.

The proposal is similar to one unsuccessfully put forward by Frank in 2007.

Separately, Frank proposes legislation to delay the implementation of regulations due to come into effect on December 1, 2009, under the

UIGEA. This prohibited financial institutions from processing online payments for gambling by US residents.

During 2006, the chief executive of Betonsports.com, David Carruthers, and the chairman of Sportingbet.com, Peter Dicks, were arrested at airports in the US on charges relating to unlawful internet gambling.

Major online gaming companies, including PartyGaming, subsequently withdrew from the US market.

Advocates of a less restrictive regime believe that the prospects for reform are better under the presidency of Barack Obama than under the previous Republican administration.

If Frank's bill is adopted, licensed operators would remain subject to any prohibitions and restrictions on internet gambling imposed by state governments and remain subject to the terms of the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which, in effect, prohibits online sports betting, other than pari-mutuel betting on horseracing..