Full implementation of the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA) is only a couple of days away. December 1 is the deadline set by the Department of Treasury for the banks, credit card companies and other financial institutions to implement the bill. However, words have been going around that the UIGEA will be postponed for another six months. Some huge organizations in the online gaming industry are talking about this extension. Should this news be truthful, the UIGEA full implementation will happen on June 1, 2010.
This news broke when Poker Players Alliance (PPA), National Thoroughbred Racing Association, American Greyhound Track Operators Association and a number other betting organizations signified their support to the bill passed by Rep. Barney Frank.
The bill passed by Rep. Frank aims to regulate the online gaming industry by taxing them.
Additionally, six Kentucky congressional representatives submitted a letter earlier to the Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to make it known to the department that they are backing the postponement of the UIGEA.
This happened because MasterCard had stopped processing transactions to the horse racing industry. This happens to the detriment of the horse racing industry, which was supposedly exempted from the UIGEA implementation.
It is a fact that this is a risk. When banks, credit card companies and other financial institutions were instructed not to accept transactions leading to online gaming institutions, it will affect all transactions.
While it is unclear from terms of UIGEA which once are illegal gambling and which once are acceptable by the law, the risk that financial institution will be unable to monitor each and every transactions make it difficult to implement on a day to day basis.
The only way for financial institutions to implement as instructed was to provide a code for online gambling entities to be blocked all together. Thus, the inability to fund betting accounts for horse race betting.
This makes it imperative for the UIGEA implementation to be postponed if not completely eradicated.
Postponing it will help the regulatory body review the bill as passed by Rep. Frank to regulate the online gaming industry. This is to make sure that online gaming websites and organizations will be taxed, and the players are likewise protected.
The news on the postponement, not by one year as requested by Rep. Franck, but rather 6 months up to June 1, 2010 is not yet confirmed.
Both the US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and the Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke had not made any official comment on this news. However, because December 1, 2009 is only a couple of days away, the confirmation may come either today or tomorrow.
If this happens, there may be a chance that online gambling will be regulated and thus million of dollars in taxes will help the government for their projects.
If in case the news is untrue that there will be postponement to the UIGEA implementation, it may be an uphill climb for supporters of the online gaming industry to stop being branded as illegal.
While there are mounting studies that regulating online gaming is beneficial, the fact remains that everything is up in the air right now.
What will happen next? We will wait for December 1.
