• by Wendy Davis , Staff Writer @wendyndavis, April 12, 2010

And the latest plan to save newspapers is ... online gambling? Apparently the ailing Philadelphia Inquirer thinks so. Today, the paper launched a site where people can bet on fantasy sports games.

The paper is partnering with the U.K. company FanDuel for the initiative, which marks the first time a U.S. newspaper has ventured into online gambling, according to Editor & Publisher. Reportedly, users will be able to place bets for $5 and can win up to $90 per game.

As business plans go, it's probably better than charging for online content -- which so far has proven a bust for many daily newspapers. Consider Newsday's recent experience: Last October, the paper began charging people who don't subscribe to the print version, or to Cablevision, $5 a week for access; by January only 35 people had signed up, according to the New York Observer.

At the same time, it's reasonable to ask whether online gambling is really the best way to subsidize original reporting. Still, whatever one can say about the wisdom of the Inquirer's new program, the venture appears legal -- or at least not explicitly outlawed. While Congress effectively banned many forms of online gambling in 2006, when it passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, that law exempts fantasy sports games. (The law itself prohibits banks and credit card companies from processing payments used for unlawful online gambling.)

In fact, newspapers could soon have even more opportunity to offer online gambling, if an effort by Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) to repeal the 2006 UIGEA is successful. Frank has introduced two bills that would replace the law with a bill that would license and regulate companies offering online gambling. A hearing on that measure is scheduled for Friday.