UIGEA "Makes No Sense Whatsoever," Says Lanni

Terri Lanni, chairman of the American Gaming Association and head of the giant US land gambling firm MGM Mirage, delivered some ‘straight from the shoulder’ remarks about the recently introduced Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act when he addressed the G2E conference in Las Vegas this week.

Now making it illegal for banks, credit card companies and online payment systems to process payments to online gambling companies, “the new U.S. law makes no sense whatsoever,” he told conference delegates. He added, “I am hopeful that the new Democratic leadership in the U.S. Congress will provide a chance to explore the legalization of online gambling.” 

Referring to the manner in which the UIGEA was rushed through Congress without proper debate and consideration, but simply attached to a more important but totally unrelated Bill, he said, “the Republican Party pandered to the religious right.” 

In October, Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee was successful in tacking the Internet gambling ban onto a popular bill on port safety. Frist is retiring from Congress as he is considering a possible run for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination.

Lanni added, “We at MGM would like to see a study commissioned to examine whether online gambling can be successfully regulated in the United States.” Lanni’s address was followed by one from the head of the UK Gaming Commission, Peter Dean who said, “Britain wants to be second to none in the regulation of Internet gambling. We firmly believe that the way forward is to regulate, rather than prohibit.”

Peter Dean said that from a British perspective, the U.S. ban is puzzling. “Prohibition doesn’t have a conspicuous record of success in this country. The obvious result is that the activity is going to be driven underground.”

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