WASHINGTON -- Blaming disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff for defeating a previous effort to ban Internet gambling, a Virginia congressman on Thursday reintroduced a bill to prohibit online wagering.

Republican Bob Goodlatte said Internet gambling has quadrupled into a $12 billion industry since July 2000, when the House narrowly failed to pass his bill to prohibit bets on offshore Web sites.

Goodlatte's bill would update the U.S. Wire Act of 1961, which prohibits the use of phone lines to wager across state lines, so the statute would apply to Internet gambling and account for new technology.

Although it has been neutral on Goodlatte's bill in previous years, Nevada's casino industry has recently shown signs of opposing an Internet gambling ban.

"There is no question that a number of our board members think the technology is there to effectively regulate Internet gambling," said Frank Fahrenkopf, president of the American Gaming Association, which represents Nevada casinos in Washington.

Fahrenkopf declined to say who those board members are. He said he is preparing a report on the feasibility of Internet gambling regulation, which he will present to association members in April.

Goodlatte said his bill will pass even if Nevada casinos oppose it.

"When it came to the (House) floor before, it did not have their support and it got 245 votes," Goodlatte said.

But Goodlatte's staff already has reached out to the American Gaming Association for support, Fahrenkopf said.

Rep. James Leach, R-Iowa, introduced a bill in November to ban the use of credit cards, fund transfers and other financial instruments to make Internet gambling payments. Leach's bill has 29 co-sponsors and is backed by the major professional sports leagues and the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., also plans to continue his push in the Senate for an Internet gambling ban.

The House voted 245-159 in favor of Goodlatte's bill on July 17, 2000. But because the bill was debated under a fast track procedure, it fell 25 votes short of the two-thirds majority required for passage.

After the vote, Goodlatte cited opposition from the Clinton administration and "false information about the bill's impact on Indian gaming" for the defeat.

But on Thursday, he blamed Abramoff.

"The efforts of Jack Abramoff and those acting on his behalf were largely responsible for widespread disinformation about this legislation," Goodlatte said.

Abramoff opposed the bill because it would have put one of his clients -- eLottery, which wanted to sell state lottery tickets online -- out of business, according to The Washington Post.

Abramoff collaborated with Tony Rudy, a senior aide to then-House Majority Whip Tom DeLay, R-Texas, to kill Goodlatte's bill, The Washington Post said. Rudy went on two luxury trips with Abramoff that summer and later worked for him.

Abramoff pleaded guilty last month to three felonies in a fraud and bribery case, and he is cooperating in a federal investigation of corruption in Congress.

Goodlatte said he already has 112 co-sponsors for his bill. Joining him at Thursday's news conference were Reps. Rick Boucher, D-Va., Mike McIntyre, D-N.C.; John Shadegg, R-Ariz.; and Frank Wolf, R-Va.

Boucher predicted Goodlatte's bill would be signed into law before the end of this year.

Shadegg included an Internet gambling ban in his unsuccessful campaign to become House majority leader.

"I believe that passing this bill will send a clear signal that the era of Jack Abramoff's influence over the U.S. House is over," Shadegg said.

Wolf said Congress should be ashamed if it does not pass Goodlatte's bill.

"Frankly, the (Bush) administration ought to be up here, advocating and pushing for Bob Goodlatte's (bill)," Wolf said.

Sue Schneider, chief executive officer of the River City Group in St. Louis, which publishes interactive trade periodicals and supports Internet gambling, said Abramoff is not the only reason an Internet gambling ban has failed.

"Internet gambling is building a more solid American clientele, and if those folks are activated, Congress will have to listen to them," Schneider said.