Online Gambling Indictment Shows Government Going Opposite Ways

An indictment has been handed down to Douglas Rennick, a Canadian man who has allegedly set up bank accounts for online gambling companies to pay customers. Rennick's indictment is further evidence that the government is going in two separate directions when it comes to Internet gambling laws.

There are the left over members of the old administration that believe that the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act will hold up. That belief has left the US Department of Justice actively trying to break up a billion dollar online poker industry.

On the other side of the issue is the new way of thinking in government, that the Internet should remain free from government interference. Representative Barney Frank is leading the way with proposed legislation that would overturn the UIGEA and lay the groundwork for legalized Internet gambling in the US.

caught in the crossfire of these two vastly different trains of thought are the current online gambling operators. The poker sites, in particular, are in a grey area. There have been different legal rulings as to whether the game of poker is one of luck or skill.

Those who believe it is a game of skill are convinced that it would be exempt from the UIGEA. Others, however, such as the DoJ, believe that it is a game of chance, which would make it illegal under the UIGEA.

The problem is that the UIGEA does not define what forms of gambling a re legal or illegal, outside of sports gambling. These companies running these operations do not think they are doing anything illegal, and then days like today happen when people like Rennick get indicted.

The government will soon have to tackle this issue head on. Rep. Frank is expected to take his Bill to legislators in the fall. He has received increased support, and indictments such as Rennick's should only help his cause.

In the meantime, companies will wait, and hope, that the hammer does not come down on them before the ill-advised UIGEA is done away with.

August 6, 2009
Posted By Larry Rutherford
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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