The possibility of Internet gambling regulation in the United States will be analyzed on Friday morning in a hearing granted by a House Panel Committee on Monday.
Some now in the US online gaming industry believe this could be the first step towards the ban on internet gambling being lifted.
The hearing will examine whether Internet gambling can be regulated to protect consumers from underage access, from fraudulent activity, and from improper payments system, said the House Financial Services Committee.
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA), announced that the committee will hold the hearing entitled "Can Internet Gambling Be Effectively Regulated to Protect Consumers and the Payments System?"
Representative Frank introduced a bill that would make all Internet gambling legal, provided the companies are licensed and heavily regulated. Rep. Shelley Berkley introduced a bill that would study the possibilities of Internet gambling in the United States market place.
The timing of the announcement of the House Panel hearing is interesting as just earlier in the day PartyGaming, a UK company that exited the US market after the United States passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in October of 2006, initiated talks with the United States Department of Justice.
It was reported that the company initiated the talks to discover if ultimately any of the executives of the company would be facing any charges in the future. The company needs to know their future destiny in the US legal system before they can sell off their remaining online business.
The announcement of the hearings in the US came on Monday after the markets in the UK closed, but Internet gambling stocks are showed great movement once the market opens again today.
