H.R.2267, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act, is set to once again be placed under the spotlight in Washington D.C. this week, with a new hearing scheduled for tomorrow afternoon (7/20, 1p.m. ET).

This bill, Congressman Barney Frank’s attempt to thwart the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) by creating a legislative framework to tax and regulate internet gambling, has been down this road before since its introduction in 2009- most recently in December- and as such news of the scheduled hearing has received mixed levels of enthusiasm from many in the gaming industry.  Joe Brennan, Jr. for instance, the head of The Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association (iMEGA), when quoted in a recent PokerNewsDaily article, appeared less than thrilled with the announcement. 

"...The i-gaming lobby has been working too hard for too long.  It deserves more than a hearing" stated Brennan.  "But, we’ll wait and see who will appear as witnesses. I’d like to see John Pappas finally get the opportunity to appear before the House Financial Services Committee and make the case for the players.”

Any perceived frustration from this hearing announcement may be due to the belief numerous online gambling proponents seemed to have had that a vote on H.R.2267 was imminent, or at the very least that a markup of the bill was forthcoming- not just an after lunch hearing without even an officially released witness list- though John Pappas, the Executive Director of the Poker Players Alliance, seems slightly more optimistic, even pointing out that such hearings are often a precursor to a final markup.

“We appreciate Chairman Frank calling another hearing on H.R.2267” stated Pappas. “We hope this is the final step toward an eventual vote in his committee on this legislation before the August recess. The PPA and the poker community stand ready to secure its passage.”