The Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative, an advocacy group, said today it supports the introduction of legislation by Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Judd Gregg (R-NH) that includes provisions to legalize and regulate Internet gambling under the "Bipartisan Tax Fairness and Simplification Act of 2010.

  "With so much media focus on the differences between Democrats and Republicans in Congress, this bipartisan initiative highlights the growing support on both ends of Capitol Hill for replacing the failed prohibition on Internet gambling with a system to regulate the industry, protect consumers and generate billions in new revenue," said Michael Waxman, spokesperson for the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative. 

"We applaud Senators Wyden and Gregg for taking the initiative to address and drive this issue."

Provisions to regulate Internet gambling are similar to those included in the "Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act" introduced last year by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA). Chairman Frank’s bill has the support of a group of 65 bipartisan co-sponsors.

 A Joint Committee on Taxation analysis found that regulating Internet gambling would generate nearly $42 billion over 10 years for the U.S. Treasury. The analysis is based on the provision of federal license for operators that would allow them to offer online gambling in the U.S., while still prohibiting sports betting.