UIGEA Regulations Published - Online Gambling Industry Not Happy

The final rule for implementing the UIGEA, which attempts to stop payment transactions to illegal Internet gambling websites in the US, has finally been published and banking systems have one year to comply.

The 66 page document released by the Federal Reserve took into account over 225 comments from lawmakers, organizations, banks, and the general public. The majority of the concerns and comments were addressed in the final rule, but few are expected to be satisfied by the conclusion.

The basic summary of the rule declares that banks must provide due diligence in figuring out which gambling transactions to block, and which to allow. Figuring this out is the banking industry's biggest concern because every state has different laws regarding online gambling. They requested in their comments a list of unlawful Internet gambling businesses to help expedite the process, but they were denied. The rule as written declares that it is too difficult to determine each state's laws, so they leave it up to the banks to determine them.

The rule was published on November 17th and leaves 60 days before it will go into effect. The effective date is January 19, 2009. This is one day before Barack Obama moves into office, which means he will not be able to veto the rule.

In the final rule it is said the major sports leagues were very concerned that this rule will not be implemented quick enough, therefore the rules have been established now. This is a controversial issue since just this week it was noted by a respected congress person that a Bush staff member was pushing for these regulations to be established quickly. That staff member is a former lobbyist for the NFL.

November 12, 2008
Posted By Bob Hartman
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
Submit News!