Home > 2007 Speeches

Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax Enforcement Act
House of Representatives - June 7, 2007

Mr. Speaker, I was raised in a fundamentalist Christian home that cast a dim view on gambling. I didn't care for it much then, and I don't care for it now.

While the Bible never directly uses the word "gambling," there are plenty of references to it in Scripture, and none of them are very kind.

Still, from lotteries to casinos, gambling is part of the American scene today. Across the country, governments derive revenue from gambling that flows into public coffers. Whether you call it a sin tax or self-imposed tax, it helps fund good social programs.

Today, gambling has migrated online where it is unregulated, off shore and exporting billions of U.S. dollars. Basically, we have a Wild West show with few protections for Americans against fraud, underage gambling and privacy.

My colleagues, Barney Frank and Peter King, have introduced legislation to establish some order and law online with licensing and regulation. I am introducing a companion bill today that establishes the process to collect some of the gambling revenue online just as we do in the communities.

If we decide as a Nation to enable gambling online, the billions of dollars flowing out of this country should remain here to help us fund schools and bridges and a host of social programs that need more than luck to succeed.