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.
20 January 2017 by Dustin Jermalowicz
For the third time in his career, Massachusetts state Senator Bruce Tarr is attempting to legalize and regulate online gambling in his home state by introducing a bill that would do just that.
17 January 2017 by Dustin Jermalowicz
This week a Pennsylvania state senator revealed that he believes online gaming legislation will be approved by both the House and Senate within the next three months.
17 January 2017 by Dustin Jermalowicz
This week a Pennsylvania state senator revealed that he believes online gaming legislation will be approved by both the House and Senate within the next three months.
29 December 2016 by Dustin Jermalowicz
This week the state of New Jersey filed an appeal with the US Supreme Court, where it is seeking to overturn the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, as it seeks to legalize sportsbetting services within its borders.
29 December 2016 by Dustin Jermalowicz
This week the state of New Jersey filed an appeal with the US Supreme Court, where it is seeking to overturn the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, as it seeks to legalize sportsbetting services within its borders.
20 December 2016 by Dustin Jermalowicz
This week US District Judge Anthony Battaglia ruled that tribal online betting group Santa Ysabel Interactive must stop offering its online betting products and stop accepting deposits from those outside of its reservation.
16 December 2016 by Dustin Jermalowicz
This week 13 people associated with the mob have been arrested with running an illegal online sportsbetting that was based out of Costa Rica.
29 November 2016 by Dustin Jermalowicz
A former PokerStars executive who processed payments for players has been sentenced for his role in disguising payments for American players, bringing the number of sentenced defendants to 10 in the Black Friday poker cases.
29 November 2016 by Dustin Jermalowicz
A former PokerStars executive who processed payments for players has been sentenced for his role in disguising payments for American players, bringing the number of sentenced defendants to 10 in the Black Friday poker cases.
17 November 2016 by Dustin Jermalowicz
This week a study by the Spectrum Gaming Group revealed that gambling is on the rise in Washington State, and that there is the potential for a strong online betting market, even though the state has some of the toughest online betting laws in the country.
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