26/11/2009, Online casino
The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was passed in October 2006.
UIGEA regulations, which were supposed to come into effect these days, on the 1st of December 2009, will be delayed for at least six months.

This is a good news for online poker players, at least for the moment, because the regulations would require banks to stop online poker, or any other gambling transaction via credit cards. New guidelines will continue to have to comply with the UIGEA rules.

Nineteen lawmakers, along with the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, the American greyhound Track Operators Association, and the Poker Players Alliance, wanted to delay the implementation of these rules and sent letters to the US Department of the Treasury. Congressman Barney Frank sponsored the anti-UIGEA bill.

“This letter cites a specific incident where overblocking occurred, so I think that could be particularly powerful with the Treasury and Federal Reserve Board. But I think the letters from others will carry just as much weight,” said PPA executive director John Pappas.

The petition which asked for the delay of the regulations gained the support of more than 50 members of the Congress and the majority of the banking institutions. At the end of the six months of delay, another additional delay appears to be part of the future plan.

Although the US is the biggest Internet gambling market in the world, the country's residents are not protected by the government against unjust operations. The six months of delay will allow Congress to address the UIGEA in order to decide whether this law is causing more trouble than it's preventing.