In response to the UIGEA (the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) Congressman Barney Frank introduced the IGREA (the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act).  As the name suggests, the IGREA’s aim is to undo the UIGEA and make online gambling fully legal in the US, with the government issuing licenses to operators and regulating any online gambling activities that take place in the country.

In order for the Act to move along in the process towards being passed, Frank must gain support from his fellow representatives.  The act requires a total of at least 218 votes in order for it to simply be passed on for ratification by the Senate.  About eleven Representatives spoke up with their support when Frank introduced the Bill in April, and recently, the support for Bill 2046 has received even more support.

The House of Representative’s Anthony Weiner (from New York), Anthony Weiner (from Mississippi), Maryland Representative Albert Russel Wynn, New Jersey’s Steven Rothman and California’s Michael Honda are the five latest members of congress to speak out and offer their support to Frank and his IGREA.  

The addition of the latest five now brings the total co-sponsors of the Act up to thirty-two, nearly three times it’s original amount.  And thanks to the increase in interest and support for the bill, more politicians have been encouraged to perhaps re-examine the bills intentions as well as the UIGEA’s implications.

Franks bill has not only received the support of his fellow representatives, but also from the a number of businesses and associations.  Included in this list is the PPA (the Poker Players Alliance).  The PPA is a non-profit group whose intention is to speak out and promote and ensure the integrity of poker and to protect US poker players’ rights.  They have not only spoken out in support of Frank’s IGREA but they also support Robert Wexler, who has introduced the Skill Games Protection Act, an act that embraces poker as a skill game.  

"We are strongly supporting two of these bills, Congressman Barney Frank's HR 2046, the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act, and Congressman Robert Wexler's HR 2610, the Skill Games Protection Act," said Alfonse D’Amato, Chairman of the PPA.