WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Bush administration has issued a final rule aimed at banning Internet gambling.

Democratic lawmakers had called on the Treasury Department to delay publication of the rule, contending the law was overly vague and attempting to implement it would burden the financial industry at a time of turmoil.

The rule issued by the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve on Wednesday requires U.S. financial firms to establish procedures to prevent payments in connection with unlawful Internet gambling.

The hastily passed 2006 law that the new rule seeks to enforce has provoked disputes because it didn't clearly define what constitutes illegal online betting. The new rule doesn't attempt to do so, either.