As pressure is being mounted on the U.S. Treasury
Department to implement regulations imposed by the
Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), the
Chairman of the House Financial Services Committe,
Barney Frank, has penned a letter to Treasury Secretary,
Henry Paulson, strongly urging him to resist the Bush
administration's rush to push the legislation through
its final implementation stage before coming a fully
functioning law.
The irony of the situation is that the majority of
people believe the UIGEA can be anything but fully
functioning, but rather, is an inherently flawed law
that places undue burden on the financial services
industry, which is already dealing with an economic
crisis. Congressman Frank noted this in his letter to
Paulson, as well as some deep concern regarding the role
of Deputy Director of Public Liaison William Wichterman,
who used to work for Senator Bill Frist and as a
lobbyist for the National Football League.
In some circles, former Senate House majority leader,
Bill Frist, is thought of as one of the most crooked
politicians ever. Frist, who had received over $50,000
in campaign contributions from Harrah's (whose stock
rose 15% after the passing of the UIGEA) and who is
under investigation by the Senate Ethics Committee for
"insider trading", was the primary force behind getting
the UIGEA underhandedly passed.
Following suit in how the UIGEA was passed into law
(as an attachment to a Port Security bill, which means
it could not be debated), the anti-online gambling
legislation is now being hit up with what Congressman
Frank refers to as "undue political pressure". Most
interesting is that Wichterman has been paid over
$200,000 by the NFL to lobby on their behalf. And guess
what? The NFL has been long opposed to the UIGEA. And
guess what else? The UIGEA has carveouts for fantasy
football betting.
Whether Congressman Frank's letter will be enough to
dissuade Secretary Paulson from implementing the UIGEA,
is anybody's guess. It is not uncommon for an outgoing
administration to rush the passing of controversial laws
before the subsequent administration takes power. But in
this case, considering the economic situation in the
U.S. (and the rest of the world for that matter),
doesn't it just seem insane to do so?
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