BestCraps.com

Will the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act Finally Break Ground?

Posted on April 18th, 2010

News Sponsored by Online Vegas Casino

Rated 5 Stars by BestCraps.com

Read Review

Visit Casino

Download Software

————————————————

June 1, 2010 is fast approaching and a lot of online casinos who wish to operate and continue operation in the United States are hopeful that they can enjoy an extended respite from the implementation of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement ACT come June 1st.

The UIGEA was implemented last year, on the 19th of January; and all affected entities were given until the 1st of December of the same year to comply with said regulations. However, due to the weak economy brought on by a financial meltdown, the period to comply was extended until June 1st of the current year.

With this date already on the horizon, a lot of online casinos accepting US players are wondering if the UIGEA will finally get off ground.

IN BRIEF

To get a bird’s eye-view of what the UIGEA entails, it basically affects the payment method of online casinos for players residing in the United States. The Act bans any financial institution to transfer payments to illegal online casinos, from players living in the US.

This created uproar within the financial sector in the US, and also among advocacy groups and consumers. A majority of publicly-listed online casinos have withdrawn their playing privileges for US players while a number of non-public online casinos still thrive with US players as amongst their top clients.

What continues to be debated over are the premises covered within the unlawful context of the Act; where there are no solid basis for identifying which is considered unlawful gambling and lawful gambling.

Online casinos who continue to operate and accept US players understand from the Act that the only thing in their way is the payment method by which US players can send their fees in order to be granted access to the numerous games being offered by these online casinos.

They have therefore, come up with their own strategies to get payments without technically overriding the funding premises as stated by the UIGEA.

UIGEA TODAY

Another bill was passed in recent months to override the previous premises within the Act concerning online gambling. The bill wishes to counteract the gambling aspect of the UIGEA by revoking the obstructions presented therein when it comes to actually playing online casino games; and instead focus on protecting US players from gambling scams, underage gambling and the negative effects of continuous gambling without proper guidance.

The author of the bill, United States Congressman Barney Frank also included the postponement of the compliance of the UIGEA until the 1st of December this year.

RESPITE FOR ONLINE CASINOS

Online casinos, whose businesses stand to be adversely affected by the UIGEA once strict compliance will be mandated; are continuing to enjoy the delays affecting said implementation of the Act.

On the one hand, there are a number of online casinos, usually based in island nations, who have disputed this Act based on the regulations of the Word Trade Organization and in so doing, have continued to accept US players. One island nation in particular that won against this Act is Antigua.

However, as the future of the UIGEA and the bills passed to counteract its premises, still remains uncertain, online casinos are still on tenterhooks as they await the verdict.

Meanwhile, with online casinos being a thriving industry; key players who have not as of yet complied with the Act are taking full advantage of this brief lull, using the months left before June 1st to rake-in as many players in the US as possible.

They are also hopeful that the bills passed will be heard and until then, are hoping that the December 1st leeway will again be given them.