Barney Frank took his proposed online gambling bill to the US masses recently with an appearance on Jay Leno's Tonight Show.
The discussion touched on a few topics, including the legalization of marijuana and education but online gambling and Franks proposed bill HR2267 got the most airplay.
Frank explained his rationale for the new law - a great way to raise much needed government revenue from an activity that is currently going on in the absence of regulation anyway.
His major justification for the law though, was a very simple and powerful one...'As a general rule, the government shouldn’t be trying to live people’s lives for them.'
Leno, seemingly playing devil's advocate ran the problem gambling argument. He said that while Vegas' inaccessibility meant players lost money infrequently, online gambling's accessibility and credit card funding made it, 'like a mini bar'.
Of course one of the stipulations of HR2267 is that credit cards cannot be used (debit card only) to fund accounts - a fact that Frank was quick to point out.
Interestingly the audience seemed quite supportive of the arguments Frank put forward.
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