Venture Capitalists May Be Left Out Of Burdensome Regulations On Private Equity

from the good-news dept

Last month, we were a bit worried that an admittedly clueless Congress might lump venture capitalists in with other private equity firms in putting forth new regulations. Venture capital is quite different from basic private equity, and the proposed regulations would be quite burdensome for VCs without having any benefit. These "systemic" risk rules don't make sense for VCs who aren't investing in public investment vehicles for short times, but instead do long term strategic investments in private startups. VCs have been pushing Congress on this, and it looks like they finally got through to someone, as it appears that Barney Frank is looking to exempt VCs from any such regulation. This makes a lot of sense as venture capital and traditional private equity are very different animals, and putting them both under the same regulatory rules makes little sense. Putting VCs under systemic risk regulations makes even less sense, considering how unlikely it is that VCs investing in startups are involved in any sort of systemic risk issues.

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Minnesota Sued Over Online Gambling Ban, While Frank Again Introduces Bill To Legalize It

from the know-when-to-hold-em dept

We noted several days ago that Minnesota was trying to force ISPs to block gambling web sites, going down a path trodden by several other states. That path, of course, has always ended in failure after the courts have weighed in. It looks like the courts will now get their chance to rain on Minnesotan politicians' parade, as a trade group has sued the director of the state's Department of Public Safety's Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement division to stop the ban. The group uses the suit to remind the director that he doesn't have the authority to mandate the blocking by ISPs, something the court will likely reinforce.

Meanwhile, online gambling's biggest friend in Congress, Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank, has again introduced legislation that would legalize and regulate online gambling in the US. It sounds pretty much the same as his earlier attempts, all of which have failed, and would take the eminently reasonable step of allowing Americans to gamble in a regulated environment where they're protected by rules and law, as opposed to the current situation where they're pushed into the gray market (or worse), and have no protection. Frank also says he'll introduce separate legislation that will stop the enforcement of the UIGEA, which says that banks must stop processing any transactions that fund online gambling. At least one big casino company seems to think Frank's got a good chance of finally getting his law through: Harrah's, which recently hired the former CEO of major online gambling company PartyGaming to head its online efforts ahead of legalization.

Carlo Longino is an expert at the Insight Community. To get insight and analysis from Carlo Longino and other experts on challenges your company faces, click here.

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Frank To Push For Repeal Of Internet Gambling Ban

from the busted-out dept

Congressman Barney Frank will apparently soon introduce legislation to repeal the US ban on online gambling, as the EU looks like it's preparing to push the WTO to take action against the ban. Along with being ineffective and useless, the ban falls foul of WTO regulations, and could lead to the US being subject to punishments from the organization. It sounds as though the WTO would like to give the US government the chance to sort out the illegal ban on its own before taking action on a complaint about it. Though, even with the changed political climate in the US, it remains to be seen if the repeal could stick. It's also really hard to see how a ban on online gambling, and forcing financial institutions to police it, remains preferable to a well-regulated environment that protects consensual bettors. Hopefully US politicians will agree.

Carlo Longino is an expert at the Insight Community. To get insight and analysis from Carlo Longino and other experts on challenges your company faces, click here.

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Bill Moves Forward To Re-Legalize Online Poker

from the ante-up dept

Looks like having poker lobbyists setting poker tables at both presidential conventions this year was effective. A new bill is successfully moving its way through Congress that would effectively re-legalize online poker, reversing a law passed two years ago that made it illegal for financial institutions to accept payment for online gambling (all in the name of national security, of course).

Of course, the new legislation would also add some regulations to online gambling, banning wagers on sports -- though, of course carving out an exception for the time of sports gambling that politicians engage in: jai-lai, horse racing and dog racing -- which would remain legal). Rep. Barney Frank who introduced the bill, noted: "Adults are entitled to do with their money what they want to do." Of course, if that's the case, why can't they also wager on sports? Either way, considering the number of folks who have jumped through all sorts of hoops to continue playing poker online, this seems like a step in the right direction.

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