Forces of evil at it again, US Sports Leagues Back Internet Gambling Prohibition

Ganchrow · 02-07-06, 01:23 AM

Originally posted by JC

Wake up people and write your Congresspeople while you still have a few rights left.

US Sports Leagues Back Prohibition Effort
February 03, 2006
by Bradley Vallerius

The United States' major sports leagues are urging members of the U.S. House of Representatives to co-sponsor the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (H.R. 4411). Each representative received a letter this week signed by top officials from the National Football League, Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League and the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

It should come as no surprise to anyone that each one of the 24 sponsors of the bill is a Republican.

Just had to get that one shot in.

bigboydan · 02-07-06, 06:48 AM

Paul Tagliabue made it quite clear during his state of the league address. he wanted congress to put a stop to offshore gambling.

The game that the NFL allowed to be played in mexico city is 10 minutes away from a casino down there. The hypocrite Tagliabue dodge that question though during that interview session.

If the NFL wants it passed, then odds are it will probly be passed at some point. Lets face facts here, the NFL has so much political pull it's not even funny.

Bill Dozer · 02-07-06, 03:50 PM

Anyone have a cut n' paste of what H.R. 4411 is? I imagine its just a lubricated version of the previous act.

Santo · 02-07-06, 03:59 PM

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:H.R.4411:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2005'.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON ACCEPTANCE OF ANY PAYMENT INSTRUMENT FOR UNLAWFUL INTERNET GAMBLING.

(a) In General- Chapter 53 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new subchapter:

`SUBCHAPTER IV--PROHIBITION ON FUNDING OF UNLAWFUL INTERNET GAMBLING

`Sec. 5361. Congressional findings and purpose

`(a) Findings- The Congress finds the following:

`(1) Internet gambling is primarily funded through personal use of payment system instruments, credit cards, and wire transfers.

`(2) The National Gambling Impact Study Commission in 1999 recommended the passage of legislation to prohibit wire transfers to Internet gambling sites or the banks which represent such sites.

`(3) Internet gambling is a growing cause of debt collection problems for insured depository institutions and the consumer credit industry.

`(4) New mechanisms for enforcing gambling laws on the Internet are necessary because traditional law enforcement mechanisms are often inadequate for enforcing gambling prohibitions or regulations on the Internet, especially where such gambling crosses State or national borders.

`(b) Rule of Construction- No provision of this subchapter shall be construed as altering, limiting, or extending any Federal or State law or Tribal-State compact prohibiting, permitting, or regulating gambling within the United States.

`Sec. 5362. Definitions

`In this subchapter, the following definitions shall apply:

`(1) BET OR WAGER- The term `bet or wager'--

`(A) means the staking or risking by any person of something of value upon the outcome of a contest of others, a sporting event, or a game subject to chance, upon an agreement or understanding that the person or another person will receive something of value in the event of a certain outcome;

`(B) includes the purchase of a chance or opportunity to win a lottery or other prize (which opportunity to win is predominantly subject to chance);

`(C) includes any scheme of a type described in section 3702 of title 28;

`(D) includes any instructions or information pertaining to the establishment or movement of funds by the bettor or customer in, to, or from an account with the business of betting or wagering; and

`(E) does not include--

`(i) any activity governed by the securities laws (as that term is defined in section 3(a)(47) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 for the purchase or sale of securities (as that term is defined in section 3(a)(10) of that Act);

`(ii) any transaction conducted on or subject to the rules of a registered entity or exempt board of trade under the Commodity Exchange Act;

`(iii) any over-the-counter derivative instrument;

`(iv) any other transaction that--

`(I) is excluded or exempt from regulation under the Commodity Exchange Act; or

`(II) is exempt from State gaming or bucket shop laws under section 12(e) of the Commodity Exchange Act or section 28(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934;

`(v) any contract of indemnity or guarantee;

`(vi) any contract for insurance;

`(vii) any deposit or other transaction with an insured depository institution; or

`(viii) any participation in a simulation sports game, an educational game, or a contest, that--

`(I) is not dependent solely on the outcome of any single sporting event or nonparticipant's singular individual performance in any single sporting event;

`(II) has an outcome that reflects the relative knowledge of the participants, or their skill at physical reaction or physical manipulation (but not chance), and, in the case of a simulation sports game, has an outcome that is determined predominantly by accumulated statistical results of sporting events; and

`(III) offers a prize or award to a participant that is established in advance of the game or contest and is not determined by the number of participants or the amount of any fees paid by those participants.

`(2) BUSINESS OF BETTING OR WAGERING- The term `business of betting or wagering' does not include a financial transaction provider, or any interactive computer service or telecommunications service.

`(3) DESIGNATED PAYMENT SYSTEM- The term `designated payment system' means any system utilized by a financial transaction provider that the Secretary, in consultation with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Attorney General, determines, by regulation or order, could be utilized in connection with, or to facilitate, any restricted transaction.

`(4) FINANCIAL TRANSACTION PROVIDER- The term `financial transaction provider' means a creditor, credit card issuer, financial institution, operator of a terminal at which an electronic fund transfer may be initiated, money transmitting business, or international, national, regional, or local network utilized to effect a credit transaction, electronic fund transfer, stored value product transaction, or money transmitting service, or a participant in such network, or other participant in a designated payment system.

`(5) INTERNET- The term `Internet' means the international computer network of interoperable packet switched data networks.

`(6) INTERACTIVE COMPUTER SERVICE- The term `interactive computer service' has the same meaning as in section 230(f) of the Communications Act of 1934.

`(7) RESTRICTED TRANSACTION- The term `restricted transaction' means any transaction or transmittal involving any credit, funds, instrument, or proceeds described in any paragraph of section 5363 which the recipient is prohibited from accepting under section 5363.

`(8) SECRETARY- The term `Secretary' means the Secretary of the Treasury.

`(9) UNLAWFUL INTERNET GAMBLING-

`(A) IN GENERAL- The term `unlawful Internet gambling' means to place, receive, or otherwise knowingly transmit a bet or wager by any means which involves the use, at least in part, of the Internet where such bet or wager is unlawful under any applicable Federal or State law in the State or Tribal lands in which the bet or wager is initiated, received, or otherwise made.

`(B) INTRASTATE TRANSACTIONS- The term `unlawful Internet gambling' shall not include placing, receiving, or otherwise transmitting a bet or wager where--

`(i) the bet or wager is initiated and received or otherwise made exclusively within a single State;

`(ii) the bet or wager and the method by which the bet or wager is initiated and received or otherwise made is expressly authorized by and placed in accordance with the laws of such State, and the State law or regulations include--

`(I) age and location verification requirements reasonably designed to block access to minors and persons located out of such State; and

`(II) appropriate data security standards to prevent unauthorized access by any person whose age and current location has not been verified in accordance with such State's law or regulations; and

`(iii) the bet or wager does not violate any provision of the--

`(I) Interstate Horseracing Act;

`(II) Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act;

`(III) Gambling Devices Transportation Act; or

`(IV) Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

`(C) INTRATRIBAL TRANSACTIONS- The term `unlawful Internet gambling' shall not include placing, receiving, or otherwise transmitting a bet or wager where--

`(i) the bet or wager is initiated and received or otherwise made exclusively--

`(I) within the Indian lands of a single Indian tribe (as those terms are defined by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act); or

`(II) between the Indian lands of 2 or more Indian tribes to the extent that intertribal gaming is authorized by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act;

`(ii) the bet or wager and the method by which the bet or wager is initiated and received or otherwise made is expressly authorized by and complies with the requirements of--

`(I) the applicable tribal ordinance or resolution approved by the Chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission; and

`(II) with respect to class III gaming, the applicable Tribal-State Compact;

`(iii) the applicable tribal ordinance or resolution or Tribal-State compact includes--

`(I) age and location verification requirements reasonably designed to block access to minors and persons located out of the applicable Tribal lands; and

`(II) appropriate data security standards to prevent unauthorized access by any person whose age and current location has not been verified in accordance with the applicable tribal ordinance or resolution or Tribal-State Compact; and

`(iv) the bet or wager does not violate any provision of the--

`(I) Interstate Horseracing Act;

`(II) the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act;

`(III) the Gambling Devices Transportation Act; or

`(IV) the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

`(D) INTERSTATE HORSERACING- The term `unlawful Internet gambling' shall not include placing, receiving, or otherwise transmitting a bet or wager that is governed by and complies with the Interstate Horseracing Act of 1978.

`(E) INTERMEDIATE ROUTING- The intermediate routing of electronic data shall not determine the location or locations in which a bet or wager is initiated, received, or otherwise made.

`(10) OTHER TERMS-

`(A) CREDIT; CREDITOR; CREDIT CARD; AND CARD ISSUER- The terms `credit', `creditor', `credit card', and `card issuer' have the same meanings as in section 103 of the Truth in Lending Act.

`(B) ELECTRONIC FUND TRANSFER- The term `electronic fund transfer'--

`(i) has the same meaning as in section 903 of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, except that such term includes transfers that would otherwise be excluded under section 903(6)(E) of that Act; and

`(ii) includes any fund transfer covered by Article 4A of the Uniform Commercial Code, as in effect in any State.

`(C) FINANCIAL INSTITUTION- The term `financial institution' has the same meaning as in section 903 of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, except that such term does not include a casino, sports book, or other business at or through which bets or wagers may be placed or received.

`(D) INSURED DEPOSITORY INSTITUTION- The term `insured depository institution'--

`(i) has the same meaning as in section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act; and

`(ii) includes an insured credit union (as defined in section 101 of the Federal Credit Union Act).

`(E) MONEY TRANSMITTING BUSINESS AND MONEY TRANSMITTING SERVICE- The terms `money transmitting business' and `money transmitting service' have the same meanings as in section 5330(d) (determined without regard to any regulations issued by the Secretary thereunder).

`Sec. 5363. Prohibition on acceptance of any financial instrument for unlawful Internet gambling

`No person engaged in the business of betting or wagering may knowingly accept, in connection with the participation of another person in unlawful Internet gambling--

`(1) credit, or the proceeds of credit, extended to or on behalf of such other person (including credit extended through the use of a credit card);

`(2) an electronic fund transfer, or funds transmitted by or through a money transmitting business, or the proceeds of an electronic fund transfer or money transmitting service, from or on behalf of such other person;

`(3) any check, draft, or similar instrument which is drawn by or on behalf of such other person and is drawn on or payable at or through any financial institution; or

`(4) the proceeds of any other form of financial transaction, as the Secretary may prescribe by regulation, which involves a financial institution as a payor or financial intermediary on behalf of or for the benefit of such other person.

`Sec. 5364. Policies and procedures to identify and prevent restricted transactions

`(a) Regulations- Before the end of the 270-day period beginning on the date of the enactment of this subchapter, the Secretary, in consultation with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Attorney General, shall prescribe regulations requiring each designated payment system, and all participants therein, to identify and prevent restricted transactions through the establishment of policies and procedures reasonably designed to identify and prevent restricted transactions in any of the following ways:

`(1) The establishment of policies and procedures that--

`(A) allow the payment system and any person involved in the payment system to identify restricted transactions by means of codes in authorization messages or by other means; and

`(B) block restricted transactions identified as a result of the policies and procedures developed pursuant to subparagraph (A).

`(2) The establishment of policies and procedures that prevent the acceptance of the products or services of the payment system in connection with a restricted transaction.

`(b) Requirements for Policies and Procedures- In prescribing regulations under subsection (a), the Secretary shall--

`(1) identify types of policies and procedures, including nonexclusive examples, which would be deemed, as applicable, to be reasonably designed to identify, block, or prevent the acceptance of the products or services with respect to each type of restricted transaction;

`(2) to the extent practical, permit any participant in a payment system to choose among alternative means of identifying and blocking, or otherwise preventing the acceptance of the products or services of the payment system or participant in connection with, restricted transactions; and

`(3) consider exempting restricted transactions from any requirement imposed under such regulations, if the Secretary finds that it is not reasonably practical to identify and block, or otherwise prevent, such transactions.

`(c) Compliance With Payment System Policies and Procedures- A financial transaction provider shall be considered to be in compliance with the regulations prescribed under subsection (a), if--

`(1) such person relies on and complies with the policies and procedures of a designated payment system of which it is a member or participant to--

`(A) identify and block restricted transactions; or

`(B) otherwise prevent the acceptance of the products or services of the payment system, member, or participant in connection with restricted transactions; and

`(2) such policies and procedures of the designated payment system comply with the requirements of regulations prescribed under subsection (a).

`(d) No Liability for Blocking or Refusing to Honor Restricted Transactions- A person that is subject to a regulation prescribed or order issued under this subchapter and blocks, or otherwise refuses to honor a transaction--

`(1) that is a restricted transaction;

`(2) that such person reasonably believes to be a restricted transaction; or

`(3) as a member of a designated payment system in reliance on the policies and procedures of the payment system, in an effort to comply with regulations prescribed under subsection (a),

shall not be liable to any party for such action.

`(e) Regulatory Enforcement- The requirements of this section shall be enforced exclusively by the Federal functional regulators and the Federal Trade Commission, in the manner provided in section 505(a) of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.

`Sec. 5365. Civil remedies

`(a) Jurisdiction- The district courts of the United States shall have original and exclusive jurisdiction to prevent and restrain violations of this subchapter by issuing appropriate orders in accordance with this section, regardless of whether a prosecution has been initiated under this subchapter.

`(b) Proceedings-

`(1) INSTITUTION BY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT-

`(A) IN GENERAL- The United States, acting through the Attorney General, may institute proceedings under this section to prevent or restrain a violation or a threatened violation of this subchapter.

`(B) RELIEF- Upon application of the United States under this paragraph, the district court may enter a preliminary injunction or an injunction against any person to prevent or restrain a violation or threatened violation of this subchapter, in accordance with rule 65 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

`(2) INSTITUTION BY STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL-

`(A) IN GENERAL- The attorney general (or other appropriate State official) of a State in which a violation of this subchapter allegedly has occurred or will occur may institute proceedings under this section to prevent or restrain the violation or threatened violation.

`(B) RELIEF- Upon application of the attorney general (or other appropriate State official) of an affected State under this paragraph, the district court may enter a preliminary injunction or an injunction against any person to prevent or restrain a violation or threatened violation of this subchapter, in accordance with rule 65 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

`(3) INDIAN LANDS-

`(A) IN GENERAL- Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2), for a violation of this subchapter that is alleged to have occurred, or may occur, on Indian lands (as that term is defined in section 4 of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act)--

`(i) the United States shall have the enforcement authority provided under paragraph (1); and

`(ii) the enforcement authorities specified in an applicable Tribal-State compact negotiated under section 11 of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C.

isetcap · 02-07-06, 04:07 PM

I am so utterly unconcerned by this legislation that I might actually give more thought during the course of a day to how many tiles there are in one of my bathrooms.

jumper · 02-07-06, 04:55 PM

gambling generates intrest in sports;i guess vegas has some lobbying intrest here