Leading The Way To Put Fantasy Play Ahead

The New York Post, in an article, recently reported that National Football League had a big hand in the recent move of the United States legislature to curb Internet gambling. they invested heavily in lobbyists to force the last minute bill through.

Those which are against the bill say that the NFL went against the rules in doing so since the legislation was never even voted on in the Senate and it holds a big exemption for fantasy football.

It was revealed by the Post that the NFL maintains its own fantasy football site, while receiving royalties from others. According to an industry association contact, these Fantasy contest companies make up to $200 million a year.

The NFL lobbying strategy was designed by Marty Gold who is a lawyer at Covington & Burling. Gold is also onetime counsel to Majority Leader Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.). The NFL paid Gold and his company an astonishing $700 000 in 2005, in payment for their lobbying for issues ranging from Internet wagering to steroids.

The league was under pressure for a way to overcome resistance to approving the anti-online gambling bill Last month, just before lawmakers left Washington for a recess to campaign. It was the decision of the league to have the bill amended to a final defense legislation that it was not possible to amend.

Gold does not take credit for the idea. Rather NFL Chairman Roger Goodell along with its past chairman, Paul Tagliabue, are said to have written John Warner (R-Va.), the Senate armed services committee chairman, telling him that the bill was an "achievement" for which he could be proud, noting that regular means would not get it through the Senate.

Warner, who is a senior Navy and Marine veteran, refused to go along. Frist then devised a new plan for adding the online gambling measure to a bill designed to secure the country’s ports. He found Pete King (R-N.Y.), the House Homeland Security chairman representative to be more willing to cooperate, and he included it with his port security bill without allowing a vote by negotiators.

King, who write the port security bill said that he was not going to let it be stopped on the account of Internet gambling, noting that it was their last offer.

Las Vegas casinos Lawyer Tony Cabot, said he believed by this that Republicans were getting hammered pretty bad by Frist and Hastert, who were not giving them any choice.

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