CONGRESSIONAL LEGISLATION: Internet gaming bill unlikely

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Friday, November 21, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

CONGRESSIONAL LEGISLATION: Internet gaming bill unlikely

Sources doubt Senate will vote on bill this year

By TONY BATT
STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU


WASHINGTON -- Congress will not pass Internet gambling restrictions this year as lawmakers scramble to complete other major legislation before adjourning in the next few days, according to Capitol Hill sources.

As late as Tuesday, Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., predicted his bill to crack down on Internet gambling would reach the Senate floor.

But with the Senate focused on passing milestone energy and Medicare bills, Kyl has realized there is not enough time to pass his bill in 2003, sources said.

Calls to Kyl on Thursday were not returned.

"I'm not so sure he has given up. We're assuming he will go forward," said Frank Fahrenkopf, president of the American Gaming Association.

The AGA opposes Kyl's bill because of concerns that it would put mainstream casinos at a competitive disadvantage with Indian gaming and the pari-mutuel industry.

Negotiations between AGA and Kyl have not been successful.

"The problem is that our terms are not acceptable to Native Americans," Fahrenkopf said.

John Harte, general counsel of the National Indian Gaming Association, said tribes are not necessarily opposed to AGA's demands.

"We would rather have an outright prohibition, but if states are going to get carve-outs, we have to be included," Harte said. "This is a $6 billion industry, and we're not going to be left out in the cold."

Neither Sens. John Ensign, R-Nev., nor Harry Reid, D-Nev., support the Kyl bill.

"The exemptions in Kyl's bill would be harmful to the state of Nevada," Ensign said.

Although he opposes Internet gambling in general, Reid said Kyl's bill is not the answer.

"I didn't think the fixes in his bill were meaningful. It may be better than nothing, but it's nothing great," Reid said.

Nevertheless, Congress remains close to passing Internet gambling restrictions. The House voted 319-104 on June 10 to prohibit the use of credit cards, checks and other bank instruments to pay for online wagers.

The House bill will remain alive through the end of next year, giving Kyl more time to push his measure through the Senate.

The original version of Kyl's bill closely tracked the House bill. But at the behest of the Department of Justice, the Senate Banking Committee included a provision that would prohibit states from legalizing online wagering within their borders.

Though never enamored of the House bill, the AGA was willing to accept it. But Fahrenkopf has not wavered in his opposition to the Kyl bill since the Senate Banking Committee passed it by a unanimous 19-0 vote on July 31.

If the Senate approves Kyl's bill next year, House and Senate negotiators would then resolve differences in the two bills before moving a final version through Congress for President Bush to sign into law.

"I'm sure (Kyl will) be back. He's not one to give up," said Sue Schneider, who chairs the Interactive Gaming Council, which represents online gambling businesses.

"The interesting thing is that the net effect of what Congress is trying to accomplish already has happened," Schneider said. "Banks and credit card companies are already blocking Internet gaming transactions."



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