Barney Frank retirement may set back US online gambling regulations

Although Frank has not yet succeeded in changing the laws in the US, his constant dedication to alerting lawmakers about the problems with the current system has opened many eyes and minds on Capital Hill. This week, Frank announced that he is retiring from public office after serving for thirty years.

The loss of Frank deals a significant blow to the future of regulated online gambling in the country. Frank has been a patriarch when it comes to raising awareness of the dangers associated with prohibition. In the past couple of years, Frank has been joined by dozens of legislators in the movement to finally overturn the prohibitive laws in the US.

As for the timing of Frank's decision to step down, it could not have come at a worse time for online poker players. There has been a strong push this year to regulate online poker, and a vote was expected by the end of the year on several bills that have been proposed in 2011. That vote will now likely be delayed until at least the beginning of 2012.

When the UIGEA was created, it was Frank who spoke out the loudest against a system in which Americans were being deprived of their civil rights to make their own choices. Frank has argued that US residents have the right to gamble in a casino, or on a lottery, so they should also be permitted to gamble online.

Over the past year, one of Frank's biggest foes, Representative Spencer Bachus, has shifted his hard-lined stance on Internet gambling. Once likening online gambling to drugs, Bachus has acknowledged that he would be open to regulated online poker if an acceptable bill was proposed. Bachus has not yet commented on the current legislation making its way through Congress.

As for Frank, not having the restraints of Congress may actually help his cause in pushing for online gambling regulations. No longer will Frank have to be concerned with making his fellow lawmakers happy, and he will be free to speak his mind without people criticizing his thoughts. "The best part? I don't have to pretend to be nice to people I don't like," said Frank, when asked about his plans after his retirement.