Lawmakers in the US Congress have started to contend with the difficult topic of internet gaming. Representative Barney Frank (D-MA) has suggested that he will promote new bills that will decriminalize some kinds of internet gaming while simultaneously instituting stringent regulations for online casino providers.

During the congressman’s House Financial Services Committee hearing last week, boosters of the online gambling industry recommended strict oversight and taxation, while opponents of any form of online gambling advocated the continuing prohibition of transactions between US-based banks and online casino sites. Experts estimate that the online gaming industry generates up to US$16 billion a year, with a great deal of that income originating from US-based players.

The meeting also featured testimony from industry pundits that many sites already have the ability to govern their online gambling clients in such a way as to yield new tax monies for struggling state and local governments while also creating jobs for many US-based firms. Other experts attested that internet gaming would take away jobs from conventional legal gambling locales.

Rep. Frank has been a vocal critic of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, a law passed in 2006 as part of a port security bill. The UIGEA, which attempted to forbid banks and other financial institutions from conducting transactions with online gambling sites, has yet to be implemented. Many banks and financial institutions criticized the law as being too complex and unrealistic to carry out. One of the leading groups, the American Bankers Association, was one of the numerous petitioners trying to postpone the execution of the new law.

One of the loudest voices speaking out against regulating online gaming belongs to Senator Spencer Bachus (R-AL). Senator Bachus cited a letter he received from an expert with the computer crimes division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In the letter, Senator Bachus showed evidence that, despite the technological advances, an attempt to collude at online poker would require only two or three players working together to defraud the other players at the table.

However, a study cited by the citizens’ group Poker Players Alliance showed that online poker regulation would lead to a much safer playing environment than outright prohibition. According to the study, small changes in the online poker software could help officials track cheating, money laundering and attempts by minors to log on.