But their failure is seen as a temporary aberration, the result more of bad timing than of a lack of support. Time just ran out. I fully suspect that the bills will be reintroduced next year. They're likely to be passed in the next session. Indeed, Jean Neal, chief of staff for Nevada Sen. Richard Bryan, said an Internet gambling ban will be one of the first bills introduced next session.
Observers say there is sufficient support in both houses to pass a ban.
Congress also failed in its last session to resolve a simmering dispute over Indian gambling. Procedural moves by Nevada Sen. Harry Reid killed two bills favorable to Indian gaming interests early this month. One would have set minimum federal standards for the operation of Indian casinos, a measure seen by tribes as a means of circumventing rules requiring them to negotiate gaming agreements with their home states. The other would have approved a Sacramento-area Indian casino over the heads of California state officials. But a measure sought by gaming-state legislators that would have banned Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt from arbitrating disputes between tribes and states for one year was weakened at the end of the session when negotiators shortened the ban to six months.