The bill aims to stop web gambling in its tracks, as theoretically, it would block US-based financial services companies from channelling money to the near-2,000 offshore gaming sites that accept bets from US punters.

Lawmakers at the Senate said the bill is "a measured and appropriate response to a demonstrated social evil that grows worse every day", citing problem gambling, money laundering and underage gambling as the major problems with internet wagering.

Senator John Kyl said anyone using the internet for gambling is "probably making a sucker bet" and others in favour of an anti-web gambling regime believe that there is no guarantee of a payout for winners.

But the bill is riddled with flaws, given that punters in the US account for half of the worldwide internet gaming market, despite the fact that their government has not yet made it legal to bet in this manner.

Rather than preventing US punters from being able to play, it is more likely to force them underground, as typically happens with prohibition. Internet gamblers would simply find other means of funding offshore betting accounts.

If passed, the bill would only be enforceable in the US, where many leading credit card companies have already stopped processing payments to betting websites after New York Attorney General Eliott Spitzer's lobbying campaign in summer 2002.

Some lawmakers want to see internet gambling regulated, which would lead to a tax windfall for the US government.

Another bill proposed last week suggested that a commission is formed to work out the best way of regulating the industry, which would delight companies such as ukbetting, which currently refuses bets from US punters.

In a highly-regulated market such as the UK, there are no issues relating to web gambling payouts and the industry is thriving. Problem gambling is not limited to the internet, nor does it benefit operators, but the web gaming industry must establish best practices to ensure that punters do not become addicts.

Gamcare, the UK-based charity that monitors problem gambling, is currently lobbying casino companies to solicit the funds needed to research and treat people with gambling addictions.

The charity believes that the liberalisation of UK gaming industry law is likely to lead to a rise in compulsive gambling.