Rep. Barney Frank
Rep. Barney Frank It looks as though the unregulated operations that are receiving all of the benefits of the US not licensing online gambling will continue to prosper at least until 2010. Many believe that Representative Barney Frank's legislation to regulate Internet gambling may be put off until then.

Originally it looked as though Frank was going to take advantage of the wave of momentum the Democrats had coming out of last November's election. The prevailing thought was that his online gambling legislation would come soon after Obama was sworn into office. The economic conditions, however, forced Frank to wait.

In May, Frank did unveil his plan for the overturning of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. In one Bill, he wanted the rules for the UIGEA, which will take effect in December, to be delayed. In his other Bill, he lays the framework for legalized and regulated Internet gambling in the US.

When he introduced his legislation, Frank insisted that there would be discussions in the Fall. That now looks like a long shot, because the economic crisis has taken up more of lawmakers time than was expected. The more pressing issues in the US will continue to be a priority, and the online gambling legislation will likely be pushed until next year.

That leaves the sites that are currently taking US customers to profit for at least several more months without regulation. If licensing becomes a reality in the US, many  offshore online gambling sites will likely be turned away by the government.

Harrah's Entertainment and other land-based casino companies have already began preparing for the move into online gambling. The US is more likely to license these companies in Nevada that they know have been following strict regulations for their land-based casinos for years.

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