Frist seeks swift action on Web gambling

FRIST SEEKS SWIFT ACTION ON WEB GAMBLING
[SOURCE: Reuters]
A bill to ban Internet gambling faces opposition in the U.S. Senate, but backers still hope to win passage of it within a few weeks, a top aide to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said on Thursday. "We are trying to get something done before the August recess," set to begin on August 4, said Eric Ueland, Frist's chief of staff. Earlier on Thursday, another Frist aide said lawmakers were still working on the bill, but would not be able to vote on it before the Senate heads off for its month-long vacation. Ueland rejected that characterization, saying Frist had not given up on getting a vote before the August recess. The Senate bill is virtually identical to legislation overwhelmingly approved earlier in July by the U.S. House of Representatives. It would prohibit most forms of Internet gambling and make it illegal for banks and credit card companies to make payments to online gambling sites. The Republican-backed bill has been criticized by some as an election-year appeal to the party's conservative base. Supporters of a crackdown on Internet gambling say legislation is needed to clarify that a 1961 federal law banning sports betting also covers an array of online gambling.
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