Barney Frank to retire from Congress
eGaming proponent will not seek re-election at the end of this term.
American Congressman Barney Frank, a long-standing advocate of federal egaming regulation, has announced that he will not seek re-election.
The 71-year-old, Representative for Massachusetts’ 4th congressional district since 1981, was named among the first co-sponsors of John Campbell’s federal bill in March this year.
He was also a supporter of Joe Barton’s bill, and just two weeks ago was among the witnesses speaking at the subcommittee hearing into the pros and cons of internet poker.
His retirement announcement follows that of Ron Paul, another Campbell bill co-sponsor, who revealed in July that this term would be his last.
American Gaming Association president and CEO Frank Fahrenkopf Jr., quoted in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, said: “Barney’s personality and stature brought early attention to the issue of legalizing online gambling, and his tireless defense of online player rights and efforts to protect consumers has been admirable.”
A vocal opponent of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), Frank first looked to establish a federal regulatory framework in 2009 with his HR2267 bill, having earlier implored treasury secretary Timothy Geitner and federal reserve chairman Ben Bernanke to delay the implementation of the final elements of UIGEA.
That bill passed out of the committee stage, receiving the backing of operators such as PokerStars who at the time believed they would not be barred from being licensed in the United States, however it never passed into law. Campbell’s HR1174 is, however, described as near-identical to the one brought by his co-sponsor last year.
In a statement yesterday, US President Barack Obama said: “This country has never had a Congressman like Barney Frank, and the House of Representatives will not be the same without him.”