The Fight Continues: 1

It is official. There will be nothing that can stop the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act regulations from fully taking effect on January 19, 2009, which is coincidentally the last day for the Bush administration. Online casinos and many organizations have tried to fight this act since it was brought forth to legislature. This has not been an issue only fought b y those interested in the online casino industry… some of the people that oppose these regulations that the Bush administration is putting into effect are several Treasury officials and the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. The Financial Services Committee has been reluctant to enforce the rules set up by the UIGEA, as of December 1, 2008 the financial services industry was to cease all illegal online gambling transactions at the financial institutions outlined in the UIGEA.

The rules that are to be enforced as of the first of December are making financial institutions act as an enforcer of “performing due diligence” and not allow any of their corporate customers to partake in any illegal gambling transactions. The government’s definition of “illegal internet gambling” has yet to be spelled out for the financial institutions, which leaves several grey areas and unanswered questions. Online casino players will not able to partake in any online bets or wagers. The critics of this portion of the UIGEA have not let down their argument that the page 66 rule is vague and will only act as a burden to the United State’s financial institutions and in no way will help them.

The online casino groups that are fighting to see these regulations go away permanently are looking for support from any powerful organizations that they can get. The US Treasury released a statement in favor of online casinos, “"For purposes of the rule, unlawful Internet gambling generally would cover the making of a bet or wager that involves use of the Internet and that is unlawful under any applicable federal or state law in the jurisdiction where the bet or wager is initiated, received, or otherwise made." This will hopefully only strengthen the case of the online casino enthusiasts. This case will seemingly never go away.