STRATEGIC PARTNERS
March 5, 2002
WASHINGTON -- Rep. John LaFalce, a Democrat from New York, abandoned his effort to ban ATMs from casino floors after learning that House Banking Committee Chairman James Leach, R-Iowa, would not support the ATM measure.
According to the Las Vegas Sun, LaFalce had intended to introduce his ATM legislation as an amendment to a bill aimed at banning Internet gambling. He has said ATMs should be located away from gaming tables so that gamblers cannot quickly withdraw money and spend more than they intended.
But Leach apparently told LaFalce that he would not support the ATM language because it was unrelated to the Internet gambling bill.
After the bill passed without the amendment, LaFalce vowed to continue his fight for the legislation, pushing it either as a free-standing bill or as an amendment at a later date.
The bill does not ban Internet gambling outright, although another bill approved by the Senate would do that. This bill achieves the same effect by prohibiting use of credit and debit cards, checks and electronic fund transfers for Internet gambling, making it virtually impossible to wager online.
An estimated 700 websites offer online gambling.
