Michele Bachmann No Pal of Online Gambling: Proud to Have "Crippled" Bill
Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, who's a candidate for President of the United States, is no friend of the online gambling industry.
In fact, when a major piece of online gambling legislation was being considered by the U.S. Congress, she did her darnedest to severely weaken the bill--and was successful!
Gambling911.com investigated Bachmann's record on gambling issues and discovered that when it comes to the rapidly expanding online gambling industry, she has about as much regard for it as a hobo has for a shower.
Here's what the record reveals:
In 2009, Congressman Barney Frank of Massachusetts, a Democrat, introduced a bill into Congress that would legalize, license and regulate online gambling in the U.S.
By 2010, the bill, called the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act, had reached the House Financial Services Committee, a small group of Congress members who fine-tune the details of the bill (called marking up the bill) before the legislation is voted on by the full Congress.
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Bachmann, a Republican, was one of those Congress members who participated in that markup.
She proposed three amendments to the bill that severely weakened it and all three passed.
The amendments have helped stall the bill, which still has not been voted on by the full Congress.
On her Congressional website, Bachmann proudly trumpets her accomplishment of crippling the Internet gambling bill.
A press release dated July 28, 2011, is posted on the site and reads: "This morning, during a Financial Services Committee markup on Internet gambling, U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann introduced three amendments to limit the size and scope of H.R. 2267, The Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act. All three were passed.
"H.R. 2267 makes way for the largest expansion of gambling in American history and would effectively provide every household in America with around-the clock-access to an online casino in their home. 'With our economy struggling as it is and unemployment hovering around 10%, this bill rewards offshore gambling corporations at the expense of American workers,' Bachmann stated. 'This legislation will kill American jobs and open up another revenue source for an already reckless and bloated federal government. We should be putting forth legislation that promotes responsible behavior and sound financial planning. This bill completely misses the mark.'
"First, the Bachus-Bachmann Amendment would create an excluded person list consisting of people who would be ineligible to receive a license to operate an Internet gambling facility. This list would contain every owner and officer of an offshore internet gambling facility that illegally accepted American wagers or bets. In addition, the Bachus-Bachmann Amendment contains strong language to prohibit individuals on state excluded person lists, including those affiliated with organized crime or convicted of racketeering and other gambling related crimes, from being able to operate an Internet gambling corporation.
"The second amendment would revoke the license of any Internet gambling corporation which targets its advertising or marketing to minors. The third amendment would prevent child support delinquents from being able to gamble away money that should be used to take care of their children."
Bachmann's second and third amendments seem reasonable--no one wants minors gambling or deadbeat dads gambling away child support money.
It's Bachmann's first amendment that is the real crippler of the bill--she essentially prohibits just about any existing online gambling operation from every being able to get a license in the U.S.
That's because just about every online gambling entity either accepts or at one time accepted bets from U.S. residents.
So the only companies eligible to be licensed under Bachmann's crippling amendment would have to be new ones, which mean inexperienced, the last thing needed in a fledging industry looking to thrive.
By Tom Somach
Gambling911.com Staff Writer
