Online gaming as an investment vehicle

For a man who does not play "gambling" safe Barney Frank is an unlikely candidate in the effort to legalize online gambling. Mr. Frank did not visit the casinos (online or offline) and claim they have never pulled the lever on a slot machine. So what drives the Democratic congressman so hard to defend a case which apparently he has not much.

"Love"? Why has the Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee passed the length of proposing new legislation that would legalize an industry like online casinos, which are under constant pressure from the U.S. Department of Justice? 

Mr. Frank is finding support among online players who have supported his efforts not only with words but with cold hard cash as well. A pitboss at the famous Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas have recently donated to his campaign, then Chris Moneymaker, a famous professional poker player. 

Industry figures show that in the U.S. alone, the Internet online gambling industry accounts for 5.9 billion U.S. dollars in annual revenue. Nearly 8 million Americans who play online, according to a study conducted in 2005 by Christiansen Capital Advisors, a Maine-based research firm. But online gaming industry as a whole has been very controversial, and be under constant scrutiny since it first appeared back in 1995th What about only 30% of deposit attempts made by the United States is prepared for online casinos. 

A law that goes back to the beginning of 1960 prohibits the use of telephone lines to place bets. The U.S. Department of Justice has since that date has relied on this law to defend its position against the thriving industry despite the fact that an overwhelming majority of all gambling sites operate in offshore jurisdictions and does not need to meet U.S. laws and regulations. 

The signature of George Bush in 2006 by a new law banning banks and credit card companies to participate in transactions related to online gaming companies made it more difficult to place bets online. But companies like lottery games, horse racing and fantasy sports were exempted from that same law. One must wonder about those strange exceptions. 

In 2007, within a period of four months late Barney Frank introduced new legislation reversing Bush's ban and worked to establish a regulatory authority that would allow players to play online casino games online. 

According to Frank this is a matter of personal freedom. Why the government needs to intervene in people's personal decisions? If in the privacy of their own homes, people want to gamble, why should they not be allowed to do that? 

Although it is still too early to say what the outcome of Mr. Frank's efforts will, it appears that such action is picking up steam and is slowly garnering support from both sides of the political spectrum. If legalized, would online gambling represent billions of dollars in new tax revenue for the U.S. government.