The Las Vegas Review Journal recently conducted an interview with Congressman Barney Frank, who is the one man responsible for stirring up the greatest legislative opposition to the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. Frank's bill, the Internet Gambling Regulation Enforcement Act, was introduced into the House of Representatives early this year via committee hearings with the House Financial Services Committee, which Frank happens to chair.

In the interview with Review Journal, Frank stated that although his bill has become inactive as a result of a lack of support, it is by no means dead. Frank, who has been entirely realistic on the issue of legalizing online gambling in the U.S., said he does not believe the bill has the amount of support that it will need in order to be passed into law. He did, however, say that support is growing. With thirty-two cosponsors already signed to the bill, there certainly is enough support to keep the bill alive.

One of these cosponsors is Democrat, Shelley Berkley, who has legislation in the mix that calls for an exhaustive study of the U.S. facing online gambling industry at the hands of the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences. Berkley, whose realism mirrors that of Frank's, says she does not expect her bill to get any momentum this year. However, she does expect it to do so in 2008. Two other cosponsors have legislation of their own as well, including Congressman Robert Wexler's bill that seeks to exempt online poker rooms from banned online casinos and sports betting sites, and Washington State Democrat Jim McDermott's bill structuring a tax scheme on online casinos permitted to do business in the U.S.

While all these supplemental bills are good for the overall cause, Frank thinks one of the most effective forces (besides U.S. citizens) in helping to get his bill passed will be international support - International support to the tune of the European Union that is. If the EU was to get mixed up in the World Trade Organization dispute between the U.S. and Antigua and Barbuda, that could open a whole new can of worms says Frank. The EU has already shown support for cross border online gaming amongst EU countries, and Commissioner Charlie McCreevy has openly expressed disapproval of U.S. actions in response to WTO rulings. In other words, online gambling regulation in the U.S. is still seeing the light of day.