Rep. Barney Frank Discusses Legal U.S. Online Poker On Late Show With Jay Leno

“Barney Goes to Hollywood”. We’ve been following the story of the battle in Congress, headed up by representative Barney Frank of Massachussetts, to leagalize and regulate online gambling, including online poker, in the United States. And this week we’ve followed it all the way to late night TV. The Late Show with Jay Leno, in particular.

Currently poker operators based in the U.S. are prohibited from letting U.S. residents play at their real money tables. The way most sites have gotten around this is by moving their headquarters out of the United States. The problem for the U.S. with this, though, is that it takes all that tax revenue, millions of dollars worth per site, accounting for billions of dollars worth total, out of the country. Frank is trying to change that, and that’s why, on Tuesday September 1, he appeared on Jay Leno to discuss it, and in particular to clarify some issues surrounding HR 2267, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act, which would allow sites that comply with new regulations to serve U.S. customers. The bill is currently still in committee in Congress.

In addition to pointing out the sorely-needed money the government could make from legalizing and regulating online poker, Frank also asserted that people should not be told by government what they can do with the money they work so hard to earn.

In the interview, Jay played devil’s advocate, mentioning that with egalization there’d be a greater potential for gambling addiction, and that people, already irresponsible with their money, could easily get in over their heads. To this Frank countered by saying that the bill doesn’t allow people to use credit cards, and that wagering limits will be set and enforced.