US Legislation Proves Nothing

President Bush signed into law the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) making it illegal to play slot machines or gamble online. However, a month later and it is still business as usual, or so a group called Americas Watchdog reports. They are a national advocacy group who are making it their job to see if the new Act had any impact on gambling online at all.

Turns out, not so much. In fact, some online casino operators revel in the fact that they are still able to service the US, even though it is now illegal to do so. They have found other ways of handling money that get their clients around US laws. Many of these companies are US based, in that England and other countries moved their online gambling sites off shore, and some refuse to do any business with the US no matter how the money would get to them.

However, the majority of the companies are using German banks and other means to “launder money” for thousands and thousands of US residents. They are acting as the middleman for many banks who want to keep their clients happy and the money flowing. According to the group, there are millions of slot machine and table game gamblers playing online.

The group suggests that the best thing the US could do is make it legal and regulated. They say that by making it illegal they have only driven it underground where people will get taken advantage of and end up losing more money than they had when they were legal. They also point out that by allowing online gambling in the US they would bring in international players as well.


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