Chairman Barney Frank said he will introduce a bill on Thursday to lift a ban on online gambling
U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank said he will introduce a bill on Thursday to lift a ban on online gambling.”Why anyone thinks it is any of my business why some adult wants to gamble is absolutely beyond me,” the Massachusetts Democrat told a community bankers group conference on Wednesday. Frank is expected to outline details of the bill at a press conference at 10 a.m. (1400 GMT) on Thursday, a spokesman said. Internet gambling in the United States was effectively banned last October when President George W. Bush signed legislation outlawing financial transactions involving online gambling. The new law won support from majorities of both Republicans and Democrats last year. It made it illegal for banks and credit card companies to make payments to online gambling sites. 
Frank told reporters earlier in the month that the bill would likely need time to gain support. Supporters of the ban have argued that online gambling addictions have ruined the lives of some college students and other young people. But critics dismissed it as a politically motivated bid to stir up social conservatives and boost Republican prospects in the November elections. The ban irked some in the European Union, which is home to online gambling companies that were forced to withdraw from the United States. The issue has been closely monitored by investors in some British-based gaming companies, such as Partygaming Plc and 888 Holdings Plc.