UIGEA Hearing Scheduled
Gambling News - 14th April 2010
A hearing discussing expected challenges from UIGEA is scheduled to take place on Friday, April 16, 2010. UIGEA – the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act – places restrictions on online gambling activity, specifically financial transactions related to that activity, which makes it difficult for US players to gamble online.
Since its enforcement there have been many challenges associated with the law and the Department of the Treasury and Federal Reserve System, as well as representatives within the financial sector has suggested to Congress that the law is ambiguous. This makes it difficult for banks and other financial institutions to fulfill the terms of the Act and prevent online gambling.
An extension to the compliance date for the final UIGEA regulations was announced in November 2009 by the Department of the Treasury and Federal Reserve System. The extension may be the last one agreed to and it ends in June 2010.
Barney Frank, Chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services introduced two bills in an attempt to delay implementation of UIGEA or to replace it with a regulatory and licensing system that will allow Americans to place online bets. The pending bills are the Reasonable Prudence in Regulation Act and the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act.
The hearing on Friday will begin at 10am in the Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2128 and it will discuss the challenges that will result from the enforcement of UIGEA. Spokesperson of the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative, Michael Waxman provided the opinion that the hearing will determine that UIGEA is a "poorly-crafted law that simply does not work." He expressed the hope that the hearing will encourage Congress and the House Financial Services Committee to find a better approach and to move Chairman Frank's regulatory bill forward.
