Conservative lawmakers are trying to ban bank transfers to offshore Internet gambling groups by attaching their plan to a bill that fights terrorism.
According to the author of the bill, Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., organized crime and other shady operators run Internet gambling sites from offshore to stay out of reach of U.S. law enforcement. The legislation would starve those sites by preventing the use of credit cards, wire transfers or other bank transactions from U.S. companies.
“This would prevent those who operate these illegal Internet gambling sites from being paid and that’s what they’re after,” Bachus said. “You take away the financial incentive and you take away their motivation.”
Attaching the proposal to a homeland security bill makes sense to Rep. Jim Leach, R-Iowa. He’s worried about the possibility of offshore sites funneling money to terrorists. “There are intermediary institutions, like Internet gambling institutions, to launder vast sums of money in ways that are very difficult to trace,” Leach said.
Besides fighting crime, the proposal protects the vulnerable. According to Leach, putting the equivalent of a casino in every home is asking for trouble. “Once people get hooked on gambling, if you can do it with such ease on the Internet, it is pretty hard to resist becoming an addict,” Leach said.
Leach said this will be the fourth attempt to get legislation banning bank transfers to offshore Internet gambling groups through the House and Senate. Previous tries were scuttled by powerful gambling lobbyists. He said attaching the measure to the anti-terrorist package is the best hope of getting it through their roadblocks.
(EP)
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