Congressman Barney Frank's HR 2267 proposal to legalise, regulate and license online gambling in the United States has attracted its 63rd co-sponsor.

On Monday New York ninth district Representative Anthony D. Weiner signed up for the bill, which has so far been on the House Financial Services Committee back-burner in deference to economic situation priorities. Nevertheless, political observers say there is still time for the bill to be launched, and increased activity is expected soon.

However, in the American Gaming Association's Futurewatch survey recently the majority of those surveyed felt that movement on either the Frank bill or the Menendez bill seeking to legalise online poker is unlikely in the next year.

81 percent of respondents predicted that Congressman Frank’s bill will stall, and 63 percent opined that Senator Menendez’s bill will not pass in 2010.

The Frank bill may have more traction than previous attempts due to the billions of dollars in new tex revenues that it has the potential to generate for states battling to make ends meet in the parlous economic situation in which the US finds itself.

Published: 19th November 2009