UEIGA and Online Poker Regulations

It's been over year since the U.S. government took the decision to regulate online gambling, including online poker, by implementing the Security and Accountability For Every Port Act, also known as the SAFE Port Act. The title #8 of the SAFE Port Act was the not very famous Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act also known as the UIGEA. The bill keeps players from transfering of money from an American bank to an Internet gambling site. The amount of sites that offered services to U.S players have decreased since the bill was approved, making very hard to find a place that would let players play poker on the Internet.

Some sites didn’t give up and continued offering services to USA Online Poker such as the case of Full Tilt Poker.com, UltimateBet, Absolute Poker or BodogLife. These sites have major reasons to keep fighting the bill or at list ease the regulations; number one is that the U.S represents an enormous and very lucrative market, even when poker is an activity that is continuous and progressively expanding all over the world. Number two is that instead of banning online poker, the government could work together with gambling sites so to protect the users from scams and develop security protocols that help to keep minors away from the sites.

Number three is that poker is a game that requires certain skills and since horse racing requires from similar skills and it is also exempted from the UIGEA, then there’s no reason for the government to think that it's better to bet on horses then to play poker.

Poker is a very popular activity and the most popular search over the net according to recent surveys, it is a great game but unfortunately the U.S government has restricted the access to online versions of the popular game. In the United States, if you are 21 years old you can walk into your any liquor store and easily buy beer or a pack of smokes with no government intervention besides the taxes but you can't play poker online. There’re no restrictions to buy certain guns but you can’t get an online account in some states of the Union because online poker is apparently bad for you.

What the government doesn’t seem to understand is that online gambling is no longer an activity controlled by the mafia, poker and gambling sites are fully legal companies registered and licensed with the same responsibilities and obligations as any other business. There are big reasons to think that the government passed this bill because they aren't getting a piece of the action. A lot of money circulates in the online poker community and they are not collecting any taxes from the sites yet. Apparently it's fine for you to smoke until your lungs fall apart, and it's fine to drink until your liver looks like a Swiss cheese, but it's not fine for you to have sit at your house and play online poker. Poker players and online sites, including some famous poker players sponsored by online Poker brands are also fighting this bill; the Poker Players Alliance is also trying to achieve some progress by participating in active meetings with Congress and Senate officials. The recent WTO pronunciation about the U.S restrictions has also helped to change the government’s plans, taking the issue to the discursion table once again. This could finally bring some stability in what seems to be one of the most repressive moves against online poker and gambling in general.

Isn't it time to stick up for your rights? Contact your congressman today.