This week we saw some new developments concerning the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). Chairman Barney Frank and Representative member for the Financial Services Committee Ron Paul brought to light a new bill that would stop the enforcement of the UIGEA. The purpose of H.R.5767 is to keep the Treasury secretary and the Federal Reserve Board of Governors from "proposing, prescribing, or implementing any regulation that requires the financial services industry to identify and block Internet gambling transactions." If the new bill is approved it will cut short any operations of the UIGEA.

When we asked Barney Frank to explain why he put together this bill he stated that, "These regulations are impossible to implement without placing a significant burden on the payments system and financial institutions, and while I do disagree with the underlying objective of the Act, I believe that even those who agree with it ought to be concerned about the regulations' impact.”

Ron Paul stated, "The ban on Internet gambling infringes upon two freedoms that are important to many Americans: the ability to do with their money as they see fit, and the freedom from government interference with the Internet. The regulations and underlying bill also force financial institutions to act as law enforcement officers. This is another pernicious trend that has accelerated in the aftermath of the Patriot Act, the deputization of private businesses to perform intrusive enforcement and surveillance functions that the federal government is unwilling to perform on its own."

Frank introduced the new bill only eight days after the subcommittee for the House Financial Services examined the rules and regulations of the UIGEA. It was in this hearing – which was labeled as Proposed UIGEA Regulations: Burden Without Benefit” that the financial institutions and many of the regulators in charge of enforcing the UIGEA brought up some of their own concerns.

Louise Roseman – the Director of the Division of Reserve Bank Operations and Payment Systems – stated trying to warn the banks might have a negative impact. "The payment system, frankly, isn't well designed to be able to identify this activity," Roseman stated.

Jeffrey Sandman – a spokesman for the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative (anti-UIGEA) was excited to see the new bill, "The Frank-Paul bill would stop the U.S. government from taking any further steps on regulations that would require all of the country's financial institutions to block Internet Gambling payments."