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China and the United States are the two most influential countries in the world when it comes to free trade and World Trade Organization (WTO) commitment compliance. Ironically, both countries claim that compliance is essential, yet neither has demonstrated that through their online poker and Internet gambling laws.
The U.S. is already in trouble with the European Commission, which has given our lawmakers a grace period so they can clean up Internet gambling legislation and be in compliance with European Union trade agreements. The U.S. has yet to heed the warning, though, and the next step would be for the European Union to bring the case to the WTO.
But if Representative Barney Frank has his way, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA) will be repealed and the U.S. will be on its way to a more progressive policy on Internet gambling. Frank has long recognized that millions of people in the U.S. want to be free to gamble online legally — no matter whether they want to play pai gow poker, slots, roulette or any of the other games of chance available online — and that taxation of the online gambling industry could provide financial windfalls at every governmental level. He’s been busy gathering support in the House of Representatives for his bill and just added his 50th and 51st official supporters last week.
China has not come quite as far as the U.S. when it comes to overhauling their Internet gambling laws. The Chinese government has mandated filters, which prevent citizens from accessing Internet casino gambling sites. In fact, the Chinese government’s stance on Internet gambling is so oppressive, as recent as February of 2010 a Chinese Web site developer was sentenced to six years and ordered to pay a fine of 5 million yuan ($735,000 dollars) for his role in building casino gambling Web sites. Nineteen other Chinese men who were involved were also given prison terms ranging from one to five years and fines of 20,000 yuan to one million yuan.
