Online Casino Legal Issues Being Attacked on Multiple Fronts

Gambling News - July 23rd, 2009 - Written by Glen

The online gambling industry, most notably online casinos, has seen great impacts since the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was passed under the reign of President Bush. Since then, many groups have been working hard to overturn this legislation, and more and more interest groups and government officials are beginning to jump on the band wagon to legalize online gambling without hesitation.

Since the UIGEA, several online casino companies have pulled from the United States market. Most notably, USA players lost the option of using Microgaming casinos. Microgaming has, in the last few months, produced two millionaires out of the blue. The Microgaming market is on the rise and US players are unable to compete until the UIGEA has been overturned.

At the front of the line to overturn the UIGEA is, as we know, Barney Frank. The Massachusetts Representative has been hard at work to overturn the UIGEA, and has proposed two Bills to overturn the legislation. He proposes that online gambling should be regulated as with brick and mortar casinos, under the pretext that much revenue may be generated for the nation that is otherwise being sent overseas.

The Senate has also joined the fight to legalize online casinos. With both the House and the Senate working toward the same goal, results may be produced infinitely quicker. The combined forces of the two may be able to quickly overturn the issue, rather than only half of Congress pushing for the repealing of the UIGEA.

The European Union, along with the World Trade Organization, has been discussing the issue with trade commissioners in the States. They feel that by ostracizing online casinos from U.S. citizens, the European Union will lose too much of a customer base. Microgaming going away from the United States market has dealt a serious blow to the industry, reducing revenues in a significant way.

Different special interest groups throughout the United States have been lobbying to overturn the laws. Most recently, the Poker Players Alliance has been in the Capitol pushing for repeal of the UIGEA. Online casinos are a major source of gambling revenues for many smaller countries, and they rely upon this money to keep afloat. The United States could also benefit from cash generated through online casinos, but until the laws are reworked, this is just money being sent over seas.