Internet poker backers all in on Hill push

WASHINGTON, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- U.S. backers of Internet gambling say they are pushing ahead with efforts to legalize and regulate online poker and other games.

U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., and other Democrats who support the move are taking advantage of delay in the enforcement of 2006 law cracking down on Internet wagers to ramp up an effort to legalize Internet poker, mah-jongg and other Internet betting games over the fierce opposition of many, The Washington Post reported Sunday.

Social conservatives say such legalizing online poker would feed gambling addictions and encourage crime, and the idea is also opposed by all four major U.S. sports leagues, while major casinos are divided, the newspaper said.

The Post reported that the legalization effort is partly bankrolled by offshore gambling companies represented by the Interactive Gaming Council, whose members have spent more than $4 million on Washington lobbying efforts during the past year.

"I think there's a growing realization in Washington that prohibition probably isn't going to work, just like prohibitions throughout history have not worked," John Pappas, the group's executive director, told the newspaper.