Online Gaming - UIGEA 2006

07.09.2007

Online gaming is a thriving industry and you will find that online casinos draw players from all over the world. Player traffic is steadily on the rise at some of the more popular gaming sites and online casinos. In addition to this the number of gaming sites, online casinos and poker halls is also growing.

One factor that has greatly affected the online gaming industry in special regard to gamers in the United States is the U.I.G.E.A. Since the passing of a new online gaming policy by the United States of America player traffic from the U. S has dropped drastically. Many of the popular online casinos no longer accept gamers from the United States and many of the poker sites have closed their doors completely to these players. Some gaming sites have suffered as a result of this, since by blocking all U. S players in accordance to the new laws of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act 2006 they have lost a lot of player traffic and gaming revenue as a result. However not all game sites and online casinos have closed their doors to gamers from the United States of America and these sites are enjoying a larger player base and increased traffic as a result.

According to the U.IG.E.A or the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act players from the U.S are not allowed to transact financially with online casinos or gaming sites. Many people are still unaware of the legalities involved with online gaming in the U.S and have no idea whatsoever of the impact that this act has had on online gaming industry as a whole and on individual gaming sites and online casinos in particular.

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was passed along with the Safe Port Act and hence went uncontested when it was first introduced. According to the Act online gaming as such has not been banned, players from the U.S are still allowed to game as much as they wish. The act however has more cleverly targeted this field by prohibiting any financial transactions with online gaming sites that are located offshore. This makes it impossible for players to gamble online legally with such websites.

However the act spells very good business for online gaming sites located and licensed within the United States of America. It is the revenue of the offshore sites that are affected. However most of the major sites have been able to bounce back from this by acquiring more players from Europe and Canada. They have also been successful because the majority of their players did not come from the U.S.

One of the largest online poker sites namely Party Poker has closed its doors to American players as a result of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act and many players find it difficult to qualify for poker tournaments as they are unable to participate in online tournaments. On an overall basis the act did have a marked effect on online gaming but most game sites have either recovered their losses or are making the best use of the situation.