LAS VEGAS (AP) — Organizations and advocates on all sidesof the online gambling debate are
cheering a Congressional hearing onthe state of online gambling.The hearing took place Tuesday before
the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade.Inhis testimony, American Gaming Association
President Geoff Freemanpraised the hearing as timely. He said the gambling lobby appreciatedCongress’
leadership.The Gaming Association is pushing for a national regulatory structure for online
gambling.Onthe other side of the spectrum, the Coalition to Stop Internet Gamblingapplauded Congress for
"taking seriously the threat of Internetgambling"The coalition said in a statement the hearing
provided a chance to explore the dangers associated with online betting.At least three Congressional
bills related to online gambling have been introduced this year.Twolawmakers introduced bills over the
summer that would legalize someform of Internet gambling nationwide. This fall, Rep. Jim McDermott,
aDemocrat from Washington, introduced a bill that would tax federallysanctioned online
wagering.Republican New York Congressman Peter King introduced a bill in June that would open the door
to all forms of casino games.InJuly, Rep. Joe Barton, a Texas Republican, introduced a more limitedbill
that would pave the way for states to legalize online poker withoutfear of federal intervention.
Barton’s legislation would apply only topoker and would allow states to opt out of the federal system.On
Tuesday, Barton suggested his bill might be divinely sanctioned."Iwill say as a practicing
Christian that God does give men and womenfree will, and I think that we ought to have a law that
represent freewill in this issue," he said.Capitol Hill could see anotherlegislative push for
online gambling before the session is out.Democratic Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, who has said the issue
is one ofthe most important that his home state faces, is working on newlegislation with his Nevada
colleague, Republican Sen. Dean Heller.Gamblerswanting to make wagers from the privacy of their homes
have had fewoptions in recent years. The federal government cracked downdefinitively on Internet
gambling in 2011. But the same year, the U.S.Justice Department issued a ruling making online gambling
legal so longas it’s permitted on the state level.Congress flirted with anonline gambling bill in 2012,
but industry infighting and partisandisagreement ultimately doomed it. When that legislation failed,
statesbegan moving ahead on their own.Nevada, New Jersey and Delawarehave legalized some kind of online
gambling, and legislatures in otherstates are weighing the issue.Morgan Stanley predicts that by2020,
online gambling in the U.S. will produce the same amount ofrevenue as Las Vegas and Atlantic City
markets combined: $9.3 billion.___Hannah Dreier can be reached at
http://twitter.com/hannahdreier.Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rightsreserved. This material
may not be published, broadcast, rewritten orredistributed.