UIGEA hearings update

30.03.2008

April 2nd's Congressional hearing on the practical implementation of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Act (UIGEA) will be conducted by the Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade, and Technology under the chairmanship of Democrat Congressman Luis Gutierrez.

The hearing, titled "Proposed UIGEA Regulations: Burden Without Benefit?" will be held in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington DC commencing at 10 am.

The hearing is regarded as being of critical importance by many industry observers, because it facilitates a hopefully thorough debate on a highly controversial piece of legislation that was pushed through Congress in late 2006 under questionable circumstances. This denied many of the voting politicians at the time the opportunity to read and understand its full implications, particularly for the financial institutes required to enforce the provisions against online gambling transactions.

Nevertheless, the act had immediate and serious consequences for many online gambling and processing companies which felt compelled to exit the well established and connected American market, resulting in serious financial losses and less choice for the US player.

Since then, the much-delayed regulations drafted to support the act have also run into trouble, with a slew of critical submissions to the drafting authorities underlining the practical difficulties of implementation, the burden on an already stretched banking industry and the lack of detail in the enforcement proposals.