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Congressional Committee to Examine Internet Gambling Wednesday

The House of Representatives’ Ways and Means Committee will be holding a meeting on Wednesday about internet poker and gambling, in the latest step forward for legalization and regulation in the United States.

The committee meeting will be considering H.R. 4976, a bill that would tax online gambling in the United States, if a companion bill that legalizes online gambling were to pass. The bill is sponsored by Congressman Jim McDermott (D-Wash.), and would create a revenue stream for the U.S. government that currently does not exist. Revenue would go to the federal government, states and tribal governments. Some of the funds generated would also be earmarked to help foster-care systems.

The meeting will take place at 9:30 a.m. Eastern in the Longworth House Office Building. The online poker world will be very interested to hear what happens in this committee meeting, but the hearing is just that — a chance to examine the bill. No votes will take place regarding the bill, it is just an opportunity for congressmen to gather information in a public setting. The Ways and Means Committee Web site contains this information about what the hearing: “The Committee will discuss the current tax laws and reporting requirements applicable to wagering in the United States. The Committee will consider tax and other proposals in the Committee’s jurisdiction related to legislation pending in the Congress to license and regulate Internet gambling activities.”

Among the witnesses scheduled to appear at the hearing are McDermott and Congressman Barney Frank, who introduced H.R. 2267, the bill that would legalize and regulate online poker and gambling. In the second panel of the hearing, Bob Goodlatte (R-Virginia) will appear. Goodlatte was one of the proponents of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act when it became law. The final panel will consist of Christopher Wagner, who is the commissioner of the Small Business Self- Employed Division of the Internal Revenue Service, and Charles M. Steele, deputy director for the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the U.S. Treasury. That final panel will likely be talking about current tax law as it applies to online gambling and the impact of the legislation under consideration.

The meeting comes at a key time for online gambling in the United States. Although the hearing is not expected to deal with the UIGEA, the law is expected to be fully enforced in just two weeks, on June 1.

If you want to watch the meeting live, you can do so here, when the hearing starts.

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