Bad news for online bookies: 'You'll never break America'

US lawmakers are attempting to prevent Americans from gambling online by blocking their access to overseas gambling sites - such as those registered in the UK.

Many UK bookies have added sports such as basketball, baseball and American football to their online offerings in recent years, but they may be about to see demand for such books diminish.

While horse racing and football still dominate on the UK high street, many bookies realised the potential to bring in dollars from US punters online was too good an opportunity to miss - but now their fortunes may be hit hard.

A bill approved by a House panel yesterday takes a two-pronged approach toward curbing internet wagers. It could require ISPs to delete hyperlinks to offshore gambling sites and would order credit cards and online payment systems such as PayPal to identify unlawful transactions that might be related to gambling.

The measure, called the Unlawful Internet Gambling Funding Prohibition Act, was approved by the House Judiciary crime subcommittee. A subcommittee representative said no amendments had been added to the bill, which now goes to the full Judiciary committee.

It's a safe bet that the Republican-controlled House of Representatives will approve the bill. Its prospects in the Senate are less certain; during the last Congress, the House approved this bill but the Senate did not.

Republican Jim Leach said: "The very characteristics that make the internet such a valuable resource are also the reasons why it has such a huge potential to impinge on the stability of the American family, American financial institutions and our national security. Those who become addictive gamblers frequently find themselves contemplating divorce and in some cases suicide."

However, as with all these issues, the question of jurisdiction becomes relevant. A report prepared in March by the Financial Services committee states: "Because internet gambling is generally held to be illegal under federal and state law, most of the estimated 2,000 internet gambling sites today operate from offshore locations" and are "effectively beyond the reach of US regulators and law enforcement."

Not all US policy makers are in favour of a ban on offshore gambling. A dissenting view came from Republican Ron Paul, who said: "History, from the failed experiment of prohibition to today's futile 'war on drugs,' shows that the government cannot eliminate demand for something like internet gambling simply by passing a law."

Declan McCullagh writes for News.com