In September 2006, the United States House of Representatives and Senate passed legislation that would make it illegal for financial institutions to conduct monetary transactions with online gambling sites. This legislation, termed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), was "tacked on" in the final hours (shortly before adjourning for the midterm elections) as an amendment to the unrelated and virtually unstoppable SAFE Port Act, which was intended to improve the security of American ports. The Act was signed into law by then U.S. President Bush on October 13, 2006. The specific UIGEA part of the Act can be read here.
Several large online gambling operators including 888.com, Party Gaming and Bwin immediately stopped accepting bets from U.S. customers, and saw their stock prices tumble accordingly. However, many other operators have continued to accept customers from the United States despite the legal uncertainty this law has created.
Curiously, no part of the UIGEA defines what exactly "unlawful Internet gambling" is and no part of the Act prohibits anyone from gambling online. A couple of years of hindsight has revealed the effects of this legislation to be:
- A minor inconvenience for U.S. players who would like to play poker or casino games online;
- A flourishing industry of smaller, less visible, and largely unregulated operators happy to accept customers from the USA;
- Most of the largest, most professional, and well regulated operators unwilling or unable to accept U.S. customers;
- Billions of potential tax revenue lost by State and Federal U.S. governments.
Below you can find an archive of all UIGEA related news articles we have posted to the site.
29 August 2023 by Dustin Jermalowicz
A man from Antigua was arrested in New York last week for his role in running offshore betting site Sports Offshore in a case that has been in motion since 2010.
18 April 2022 by Dustin Jermalowicz
US gambling lobbying group the American Gaming Association has called on the US Department of Justice to crack down on offshore unlicensed iGaming companies as the American market continues to regulate online betting.
21 January 2021 by Dustin Jermalowicz
The United States Department of Justice has lost another appeal regarding the 1961 Wire Act and online betting, and the new administration has indicated that they won't press the case any further.
13 February 2019 by Dustin Jermalowicz
The state of New Hampshire may end up suing the federal government over the Department of Justice's opinion change on the Wire Act, which could see lotteries, sportsbetting, and internet gambling made illegal where the services are already offered.
8 January 2018 by Dustin Jermalowicz
The state of Rhode Island is possibly considering legalizing and regulating online gambling within their tiny borders in an effort to pad their coffers and coverage some budget issues.
8 January 2018 by Dustin Jermalowicz
The state of Rhode Island is possibly considering legalizing and regulating online gambling within their tiny borders in an effort to pad their coffers and coverage some budget issues.
14 December 2017 by Dustin Jermalowicz
The state of Michigan may be adding legalized sportsbetting to their state's gambling options after verbiage was added to the state's online gambling regulation bill that would allow for the activity.
28 November 2017 by Dustin Jermalowicz
This week two prominent U.S. Senators wrote a letter expressing their displeasure with online gambling, urging the Department of Justice to reverse an opinion that allows for online gambling to take place in individual states.
28 November 2017 by Dustin Jermalowicz
This week two prominent U.S. Senators wrote a letter expressing their displeasure with online gambling, urging the Department of Justice to reverse an opinion that allows for online gambling to take place in individual states.
31 October 2017 by Dustin Jermalowicz
This week the state of Pennsylvania officially legalized online gambling as Governor Tim Wolf signed a bill into law that legalizes the activity while also expanding other forms of betting.
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