U.S. Rep. Barney Frank chairman of the House of Representatives Financial Services Committe said he would introduce a bill next week to overturn a three year old U.S. ban on Internet gambling.

The legislation would overturn a law imposed during the Bush administration that has hurt U.S. trade ties with the European Union.

The bill had been expected earlier, but Frank said his committee has been busy with other measures addressing the credit crisis and proposals to reform financial regulation.

EU online gambling firms lost billions of euros in value after the U.S. Congress in 2006 made it illegal for banks and credit card companies to make payments to online gambling sites.

Online gambling proponents may have to wait a little longer for the passage of federal legislation that would legalize betting on the Internet.

Macquarie Securities gaming analyst Joel Simkins told investors not to bet the house on Internet gambling becoming legal anytime soon.

His prognosis comes despite a White House that is seemingly friendlier toward Internet gamblers and the support of Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., who plans to reintroduce a bill after the Easter holiday that would legalize and regulate Internet gaming.

Lobbyist contacts and casino company operators dialed into Capitol Hill, Simkins put steep odds on the issue seeing any light.

Simkins said: “We see little reason for investors to try to play this near-term,”.

Online gambling has long interested the casino industry, mainly due to the reported revenues the activity has produced. Estimates by Internet gaming advocacy groups peg the amount of money annually wagered online at anywhere from $20 billion to $25 billion.