Professor I Nelson Rose, one of the world's leading authorities on gambling law, has publicly condemned Senator Bill Frist for his purportedly underhand involvement in pushing through the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006, which has effectively led to a ban in online gaming in the States.
"Senator Bill Frist, doesn’t want to be president - he wants to be dictator," begins Rose in a scathing statement issued through his website. "Frist, the majority leader of the US Senate, used his position of power to ram through the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006. He didn’t even give the members of Congress a chance to read the bill.
"They were told about it late Friday night, mere minutes before they recessed to campaign for re-election," Rose continues. "Frist cynically attached his pet anti-internet gaming bill to a completely unrelated bill dealing with port security, so no one would dare vote against it."
Rose, whose recent publications include Gaming Law: Cases and Materials’ and Internet Gaming Law’ said that no matter how people feel about internet gaming, Frist’s methods were not the way laws should be made in the US.
"Even giving him the benefit of the doubt, that he really cared about internet gambling, he appointed himself the decider of how America should handle the issue," he added. "But, in fact, Frist never showed any interest in internet gaming until he decided to run for president. Having run political campaigns, I can tell you he first conducted polls and focus groups and hired campaign consultants.
"They told him that he could score a few points with his right-wing religious base by coming out against online gambling. So Frist threw the idea of outlawing internet gaming into a speech in Iowa, where the first presidential caucuses will be held in 2008.
"The post-speech polls and focus group must have been positive, because he next announced it as a legislative priority, even though almost no one else in Congress, or America, cares much about the issue."
Looking to guide those hoping for a solution to the new regulation, Rose concluded: "Can anything be done about this new law? Unfortunately, no. Using its police powers, Congress can do just about anything to any form of gambling. It just would have been nice if they had read the bill before they voted."
