UK Firms Support Online Gambling in the USA

The battle of legalizing online gambling in the United States has been happening since 2006 when the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act or the UIGEA was passed.  The bill states that transferring money through a financial institution to fund an online gambling account is prohibited and against the law.  But it cannot be denied that many problems arose from this bill because what it encompassed was not clear-cut.

Effects of the UIGEA

This bill has not only affected US-owned online casinos, but it has also affected online casinos owned by other nationalities as well, wherein some casinos were even forced to prohibit players from the United States from playing at their games.  Of course, this has infuriated many online gamblers, saying that the bill is stepping on their rights to choose how to spend their money.  On the other hand, online gambling sites owned by other countries are experiencing decreased profit because of the problems arising from American players playing at their sites.

An Ally Found

Organizations against the UIGEA have found an ally among the online casino operators based in the United Kingdom.  In fact, The Telegraph, a big British newspaper company, has reported that UK-owned online gambling sites are paying huge amounts of money to lobby for online gambling in the US to be legalized.  These online gambling operators have employed the services of expensive lobbying companies to present their case before the United State Congress.

A big company was mentioned in the report, the UC Group, saying that the said company had allotted millions of dollars just to campaign for the legalization of online gambling.  They have spent money to support organizations that aim to overturn the bill and stop the ban on online gambling in the country.  With ten gambling companies that they manage, they really are pushing to put a halt on the bill and finally open the market for gambling operators based outside the country.

There are other companies who are spending money to finally legalize online gambling.  PartyGaming has teamed up with British companies and had allotted funds to pay for lobbying companies in the hopes that the bills against online gambling be changed.  Knowing the severity of any case pertaining to online gambling in the country, the company has also set aside a fund just in case they have to settle criminal charges.

With this much effort put into changing the bill and finally making online gambling legal, both parties are sure to benefit from the profits earned from the online gambling industry.

But the question remains, what are the ramifications of legalizing online gambling?

Tagsgambling, online casinos, online gambling, PartyGaming, poker online, UIGEA

See also

• US Lawmakers Ask to Postpone the UIGEA
  December 1 might mean the start of the Yuletide season, but for some, this means the start of the implementation of the financial rules to put in force the prohibition on online gambling. This implementation is fast approaching, and US Lawmakers are asking the regulators to delay this by about a year. Reasons Set Forth The reasons set [...]
• Lifting of the Online Gambling Ban Imminent?
  Many online casino operators now have bigger hopes when it comes to lifting the ban placed on online gambling, especially since the current president of the country is an avid poker player and most especially since States are now looking into other sources of income, online gambling included, because of the recession. Preparing for the Impending [...]