If Bill Frist’s latest maneuvers in Congress are any indication, the U.S. Senate Majority Leader seems willing to use just about any method at his disposal to fight online gambling. Apparently, Frist recently tacked on anti-online gambling legislation to entirely unrelated proposals just to get it to the Senate floor.

According to Associated Press, the skillful Senator is attempting connect a bill authorizing U.S. military operations, including those in Iraq and Afghanistan, to legislation that would prohibit people from using credit cards to settle their Internet gambling debts.

A Senate GOP leadership aide confirmed the Associated Press reports, noting that Frist and his aides have been meeting with lawmakers and officials from the Senate and the House of Representatives to get the anti-online gambling measure attached to a compromise Defense Department authorization bill.

In July, the House passed a different version of the Internet gambling measure but the Senate has been too busy to respond to similar legislation that has garnered significant opposition from the banking industry because of the unfair burden they would have to assume if such a bill were to pass. There is also opposition to the exceptions made in the bill for certain forms of online gambling. This legislation is not mentioned by either of the defense bills passed by the House and Senate.

While all the details of Frist’s proposal are not yet out, all indications point to a less-sweeping version than the House measure. Leadership aides and lobbyists, speaking on condition of anonymity because of ongoing negotiations, confirmed these indications.

Frist, a Republican Senator from Tennessee, is reportedly considering a run for the Presidency in 2008 and recently addressed the online gambling issue in the politically important state of Iowa, promising to fully support the anti-online gambling measure. In a recent speech on the Senate floor, Frist also declared that anti-online gambling measures should be made a legislative priority.

The National Football League, other sports bodies as well as numerous conservative and anti-gambling groups all avidly support Frist’s measure, but some banking groups are voicing their opposition. There are also some objections to the measure because of the possible exceptions it makes for horseracing and the lottery.

Posted on: September 20, 2006

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