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New Bill to Clarify UIGEA

August 6, 2008

Prior  to Congress going on recess last week, Representative Pete Sessions, a  Republican from Texas, introduced a bill into session that would help clarify  and modify the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.  Sessions’ and  many others feel that the wording of the UIGEA should be modified so that the  definition of what is considered illegal online gambling is outlined with no  confusion.  H.R. 6663, as it is currently worded, seeks to limit the  definition of illegal online gambling to sport betting.  Sports betting is  illegal in 49 of 50 states.  The bill also points out how the UIGEA’s  wording has caused companies to leave the online gambling market in the United  States, banning American players from their sites. 

The  bill proposed by Representative Sessions and Congress found the following  issues that prompted the proposing of H.R. 6663:

 
1. Prior to the UIGEA,  federal law regarding gambling was passed decades before the commercial use of  the Internet and much of the wording was both vague and outdated when used in  reference to online gambling activities.
 
2. All of the gambling  prosecutions pursued so far by the government have involved sports betting and  there are no defining court decisions on the books that apply to online casinos  and poker rooms.
 
3. Sports betting has  been banned in 49 states in an attempt to preserve the integrity of  professional and amateur sports and there are definitive cases on the federal  books that clarify it as being illegal on the Internet.
 
4. Many of the internet  casino and poker sites that have banned American players because of the UIGEA  were fully listed on the London Stock Exchange and already subject to  transparency standard and scrutiny.  They chose to block Americans due to  the clarification of the UIGEA they received.
 
5. Companies that  complied with the UIGEA in a good faith effort are still facing legal jeopardy  from the United States.
 
6. Congress feels that  criminal statutes are applicable only to online companies that offered sports  betting services to American citizens prior to October 13, 2006.
 
7. Companies that offer  internet sports betting to American citizens or who process payments for  illegal sport betting by American citizens are the only ones that should be  prosecuted.

Surprisingly,  H.R. 6663 is not being supported by everyone in the online gambling  world.  The Poker Player Alliance is not sure how the findings will affect  online poker playing – and ultimately online gambling overall – and that the  bill does not clarify how online poker and gambling should be viewed.   Prior to the UIGEA, only online sports betting was considered illegal and there  is nothing on the federal books that states online gambling and poker is  illegal.  The bill will be studied in more depth when Congress comes back  into session in September and could incorporate the concerns of the PPA before  it is put to a vote.