The AGA wants Congress to Act Now
The American Gaming Association (AGA) is on fire in an attempt to get the U.S. Congress to act now to pass legislation to launch federal guidelines for regulating and licensing legal online poker. The Congressional action is desperately needed or the US will see prevalent legalization of all types of online gambling and state-by-state regulations that are pieced together. These regulations could put consumers, problem gamblers and minors at avoidable risk.
Banning Sports Wagering
The AGA wants Congress to present and pass a bill and consists of releasing an informational video as an outreach campaign to educate lawmakers and other stakeholders. In addition, they want a combination of earned and social media to increase awareness of the issue. The Department of Justice said, in regards to the 1961 Federal Wire Act that it would only prohibit sports betting and not other methods of online wagering. Since, individual states have moved forward to pursue other forms of online gambling. The AGA insists that there has to be a set of federal minimum standards in place before states can be allowed to license and regulate online poker. This will help to protect patrons, problem gamblers and minors from risk.Legal Gambling Expanded
Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr., president and CEO of the AGA was quoted as saying, "Without swift congressional action, the U.S. will soon see the largest expansion of legal gambling in its history. And without any federal guidelines in place, the result will almost certainly be inadequate oversight that creates a world of unnecessary risk and problems for law enforcement and U.S. consumers." "The Internet Gambling Prohibition, Poker Consumer Protection and Strengthening UIGEA Act of 2012" was viewed by the AGA and they support the general provisions outlined therein. There also needs to be provisions included for Native American casino operators who will resist any state regulations.