Rep. Barney Frank has drafted a bill to make sure that the law passed against Internet gambling does not lead to widespread surveillance of online financial transactions. Pokernews.com describes it this way:

The bill, entitled the “Payment Systems Protection Act of 2008,” prohibits the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve from enacting any regulation of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) except “to the extent as any such regulation pertains to wagering of the type that is prohibited under chapter 178 of title 28, United States Code (relating to professional and amateur sports protection).” In other words, all regulations would be struck down immediately, except for those that concern online sports betting.

After suspension of the current regulations, HR 6870 then calls for an “administrative law judge” to work with the Treasury and Federal Reserve to “develop and implement regulations.” The bill mandates that the new guidelines should “include a definition of the term ‘unlawful Internet gambling’ after conducting a full economic impact study of the proposed regulations.”

FreedomWorks has set up an action alert page to contact Congress here.