Florida Congressman Robert Wexler, a Democrat member of the House of Representatives is going to introduce legislation to exempt online skill games such as poker, backgammon, gin-rummy or mahjong and chess from the Internet gambling ban that was passed by the American Congress last year.
His bill would slice out 'skill games' such as online gin-rummy, cribbage, backgammon, poker, bridge, chess and mahjong from the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) that President George W Bush signed into law last October. The skill games should be treated differently from games of pure chance, so-called pure casino games like roulette for example. Players can win and lose based on their ability and it's a deserving distinction.
The online gambling ban passed last year made it illegal for banks, credit card companies and online paymet systems to make payments to online gambling sites and Congressman Wexler’s proposals will be unveiled a day before the House Financial Services Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on the subject at the request of Representative Barney Frank, the Chairman of the Committee and an outspoken critic of the online gambling ban.
The Congressman has conceded that he does not yet have enough support in Congress to rescind the online gambling ban as it won majorities among both Republicans and Democrats. The ban also upset the European Union as it is home to some online gambling companies that were forced to withdraw from the United States.