The UIGEA takes a rain check till early next year

Rep. Barney Frank delivered the case for the regulation of the online gaming industry in a 90 minute hearing which was both witnessed and questioned by a number of members of the House Financial Services Committee on early Thursday morning this week.

The hearing was mostly informative as no vote was taken; the hearing opened with a clear statement of the necessity of regulation and moved to a statement that he has a clearly opposite view from the regulation passed on by congress in 2006.

Frank stated that he clearly believes that it is a mistake to go against the rights of adults to distribute their money and time where they believe is appropriate. Opposing to Frank Rep. Bachus stated that internet gambling is and will be a threat which will lead to addiction, bankruptcy and additionally crime at a bigger extent at a later stage in time.

Present in the meeting were members of the Poker Players Alliance which brought a claim regarding a Press Release stating: “PPA: FBI Letter Wrongfully Cites Online Poker Myths, But Underscores Need for Licensing and Regulation”.

“Every concern the letter raises is better addressed by licensing and regulation than by prohibition,” said John Pappas, the Poker Players Alliance executive director. “The letter misconstrues much about the current state of online poker, but it does so in a way that clearly makes the case for why federal oversight is necessary. ”After several witnesses testified and answered questions posed from the members of Congress in attendance, Rep. Frank adjourned the meeting and said that Congress would continue the conversation after the New Year.

The future of online gaming is clearly a matter that will not resolve itself as the high volume of revenue generated from the particular industry is a contributing factor for the US to take a steady decision which will allow players to clearly understand if they can play safely or not. The backfire from the legislation is of course giving birth to a number of opportunists which are taking advantage of the current un precise environment and launching gaming sites accepting US players with no guarantees to the safety of their funds.

From our point of view a clear angle and regulation is clearly necessary to be given as soon as possible to ensure operations in the US from regulated, trusted online gaming companies which will ensure players funds online gaming experience. The facts are that casino players are searching for sites that will accept their business and this is not something that can be regulated.

It is rather the flip of the coin the although the UIGEA has moved major poker operators like Party Poker out of the US scene, PokerStars has absorbed their business which is surely a safe place to play for US players; this argument is posed to highlight that the problem that has been presented after the implementation of the UIGEA is mostly related to the casino sector and not that mush to the poker sector as internet poker in the US is by more than 85% dominated by 4 respected poker networks which remain safe and trusted among the online poker community as they have found the way to both process their players funds and enable them to withdraw with ease.

Similar to casino playing in Las Vegas or Atlantic City a players that wishes to gamble will find the way one way or the other. The only accomplishment managed by the UIGEA is that it is giving green light to mickey mouse operations to hold casino sites that are totally unsafe for players which is at a most larger extent worrying as casino playing can turn to be more problematic when not conducted at a safe environment that will protect players, gaming patterns and problematic behaviors.

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