Prohibition Effort Faces Continued Adversity

The Internet Gambling Prohibition Act, reportedly bound for mark-up in the House Tuesday, will have to endure a few sizeable bumps in the road before cruising to the White House. Lobbying efforts by gambling proponents have forced the bill's sponsors to carve out exemptions and the hard-line anti-gambling groups no longer support the legislation. Consequently, Senator Kyl and Representative Goodlatte, the bill's fathers, have seen a slam-dunk, feel-good piece of legislation turn into a policy maker's nightmare. Meanwhile, House Crime Subcommittee Chairman Bill McCollum, one of the bill's strongest supporters, has been curiously quite amid the push for prohibition in recent weeks.

Perhaps the most intriguing byproduct of the bill's winding journey through Congress is the amazingly diverse potpourri of special-interest groups that have climbed into bed with one another in an effort to keep the bill from passing. One of the act's recently acquired opponents, Christian Coalition, voiced its disapproval in a letter delivered to the Committee on the Judiciary Chairman Henry Hyde on Thursday. In the letter, Coalition Director of Government Relations Jeffrey Taylor criticized the legislation for including exemption for state lotteries and pari-mutuel wagering. "Christian Coalition cannot support any legislation that purports to restrict gambling on the internet and at the same time expands gambling opportunities on the internet," Taylor wrote.

The Family Research Council has chimed in as well, expressing its disapproval of the bill's exemptions for in-home lotteries.

As of Friday, the Coalition and the Family Research Council have gained a few unlikely allies in the National Association of Convenience Stores, the Service Station Dealers Association and the National Licensed Beverage Association, all of which oppose the lottery carve-out, none of which are too interested in seeing lottery ticket sales plunge at gas stations and convenient stores.

The prohibition opposition can't exactly claim victory at this point, but it can certainly take credit for taking a bit of momentum away from the bill.

Click here to view the Christian Coalition letter.