Credit cards are at issue

Thursday, May 11, 2000 | 10:30 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Several congressmen on Wednesday introduced a bill that bans the use of credit cards for Internet gambling, creating a major roadblock for the fast-expanding "virtual casino" industry.

"By stopping the most common means for getting into gambling on the Internet, this legislation is a common-sense approach for dealing with a growing international problem," House Banking and Financial Services Committee Chairman Jim Leach, R-Iowa, said. The bill would also ban use of debit cards and electronic fund transfers.

Bill supporters say the legislation is designed to "buttress" another bill that bans Internet gambling altogether. The House Judiciary Committee approved that bill last month.

Internet gambling is destructive, especially for young people, bill supporters say.

"Internet gambling exacerbates the potential financial and emotional losses for American families without any offsetting economic benefit to taxpayers and local communities," bill co-sponsor and committee member John LaFalce, D-N.Y., said.

Hundreds of Internet gambling sites have been established in recent years, many off-shore. The casino gaming industry generally supports the ban on Internet gambling.