A battle is shaping up over legalized online gambling in Congress. Representatives Russ Carnahan and William Lacy Clay have co-sponsored a bill to legalize online wagering because of the potential for enormous tax revenues. Carnahan and Clay were among House members who argued last fall to delay a law passed in 2006, banning transfers of betting funds, and the government agreed to delay enforcement. But now the bill's chief sponsor, Massachusetts Representative Barney Frank, plans to take up the new legislation anew in the Financial Services Committee that he chairs.

Frank's bill pits defenders of Internet freedom against those who warn of dangers from easier access to gambling. Online gambling remains illegal under an old federal law aimed at bookies using telephones, but the government rarely prosecutes.