UIGEA Beginning To Tamper With Online Winnings

The federal government put forth the UIGEA back in 2006, and they are now beginning to follow through with their restrictions. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, or the UIGEA, prohibits banks and financial centers from processing financial transactions associated with online gambling. According to government reports, warrants for seizure have been attained and accounts that process payments for gambling sites have been frozen.

The accounts that have been frozen processed payments from online poker rooms. The Poker Players Alliance has been lobbying to keep online poker out of the justice system's cross hairs. Big trouble ensued after the PPA realized that the Federal Government locked down the accounts of the payment processors, withholding over $30 million from the rightful winners.

Some representatives have been stressing the importance of civil rights as they pertain to Internet gambling. Barney Frank, is spearheading the initiative, and is the main sponsor of two bills that would enable USA citizens to gamble online in a regulated online casino. The first Bill would overturn the UIGEA, blocking the government from freezing assets as they have done most recently. The second would legalize and regulate the online gambling industry.

One of the targeted accounts was a Wells Fargo bank in San Francisco, California. The issuer of the warrant was a US District Attorney for Southern New York. The PPA has been exercising their might as an interest group to help sway legislators in their favor, but all efforts have been thus far unsuccessful.