Late Tuesday night, Representative Barney Frank shared some good news with the online casino industry. Frank has decided that time is finally right for the online gambling bills to be moved forward. A date has been set to begin discussions on the online gambling regulations, which form the online gambling bills.

Initial discussions will center around overturning the UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act). The date on which the discussions will begin is Thursday, 3rd December 2009. Although these discussions are just the beginning of what is likely to be a long process, at least it is a beginning. At this time, there are not likely to be any major changes that will take place from the initial discussions, however, these talks will pave the way to future changes.

With the 1st December deadline for the implementation of the UIGEA looming just a few days before the online gambling bills will now start their way through the legal process, it is difficult to tell which way certain issues will go. There is much speculation that the Treasury will now delay the implementation of the UIGEA, even if only for a short time, now that the gambling bills are beginning their process.

Should the Treasury agree to delay the UIGEA implementation to sometime after the new year begins, Barney Frank and the other Congressmen who are opposed to online gambling may well have a chance to have the gambling bills passed into law before the UIGEA is officially implemented.