Congress Moves to Re-Legalize Online Gambling

Online gambling might soon be legal again, just four years after it was originally banned. The House Financial Services Committee approved a pair of bills to re-legalize and tax Internet casinos yesterday, the New York Times reports. The ban has just driven gamblers to overseas sites, supporters argue, while legalization could produce $42 billion in tax revenues. But many brick-and-mortar casinos oppose the bill, as do backers of the original ban.

“People sometimes resort to drastic things when they are strapped for cash,” said one Republican Virginia rep, calling the proposals “unfathomable.” But bill champion Barney Frank dismissed that argument. “Some adults will spend their money foolishly,” he said, “but it is not the purpose of the federal government to prevent them legally from doing it.” (More internet gambling stories.)