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July has been a good month for Congressman Barney Frank, Chairman of the influential House Financial Services Committee and author of Bill HR 2046 the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act which proposes the regulation and taxation of Internet gambling in the United States instead of banning the pastime.

Five more Congressman have signed on to the Bill as sponsors, including Representatives Anthony D. Weiner (D-N.Y.) and Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.) who attached their support to the bill July 10, and Representatives Steven R. Rothman (D-N.J.), Michael M. Honda (D-Calif.) and Albert Russell Wynn (D-Md.) who signed up late last week.

The addition of the latest representatives grows the current list of co-sponsors to 32, up from the bill’s original 11 when Frank first introduced the Act to the House in April.

The new sign-ups join the following politicians who have previously signed up to support the Frank bill, which calls for online gambling in the United States to be taxed and regulated by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

Alcee L. Hastings, Don Young, Gary L. Ackerman, Howard L. Berman, James McGovern, Julia Carson, Joseph Crowley, Bob Filner, Luis V. Gutierrez, Peter T. King, Jim McDermott, James McGovern, Charlie Melancon, Ed Perlmutter, Linda T Sanchez, Melvin L. Watt, Shelly Berkley, Michael Capuano, Wm. Lacy Clay, Steve Israel, Carolyn McCarthy, Ron Paul, Ross Carnahan, Ciro D. Rodriguez, Edolphus Towns, Robert Wexler, Vito Fossella.

Frank’s aides have repeatedly said that interested parties calling their political representatives with expressions of support for the Frank bill were having a positive effect in encouraging politicians to re-examine the implications of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act and the alternatives which HR 2046 presents.

If passed, Frank’s bill will neutralise the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, signed into law by U.S. president George Bush last October. The UIGEA prohibits financial transactions from banks and credit card companies to Internet casinos, poker rooms and sports betting sites, and has been described by Frank and other politicians as “preposterous,” “one of the stupidest laws ever passed by Congress” and as an invasion of American personal freedom.

Macau’s casinos may be flourishing, but their surging demand for power is draining the tiny city’s electricity supply, according to regional news sources. Electricity consumption in the southern Chinese territory jumped 17.6 percent in the first five months of 2007, according to news reports, citing figures from the government and Macau’s sole electricity provider.

More than half the city’s electricity is now imported from southern China, up from 15 percent two years ago, it said. Macau’s gaming industry has rocketed since a 2001 law stripped tycoon Stanley Ho of his 40-year monopoly on casino operations in the former Portuguese enclave.

The move attracted Las Vegas giants Sands, Wynn and MGM, whose new glitzy casino-hotel complexes transformed the sector, ushering in an era of massive growth. Last year Macau used 2.4 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh), up 37 percent from 2003, before the opening of Sands Macau casino, which started the gaming boom. Electricity consumption is expected to exceed 4.3 billion kWh in 2010.

Macau has suffered several major power cuts in recent months, some caused by construction work damage to cables, and an outage in May disrupted a prime business area there. To ease the soaring power demand, a third electricity cable between Macau and Guangdong province in south China was launched last month and will increase importing capacity to 60 percent. A fourth cable will launch later this year, the paper said. — AFP Macau’s casinos may be flourishing, but their surging demand for power is draining the tiny city’s electricity supply, the South China Morning Post reported Monday.

Electricity consumption in the southern Chinese territory jumped 17.6 percent in the first five months of 2007, the paper said, citing figures from the government and Macau’s sole electricity provider. More than half the city’s electricity is now imported from southern China, up from 15 percent two years ago, it said.