Obama's Midnight Freeze One Day Late for Online Casinos
Only minutes after taking the oath of office yesterday, President Obama placed a halt on all Bush administration midnight rules, stopping them until his incoming team has time to review them. Unfortunately for online gambling operators and patrons, the finalized regulations for implementing the UIGEA went into permanent status on Monday, the last day in office for George Bush.
Like many outgoing Presidents, Bush sought to enact policies of an ideological nature as his final weeks passed. Many of these midnight regulations are still under a mandatory review period, and have now been blocked by Obama, as Bush did to Clinton's last acts.
But, because White House aide William Wichterman pressured the Treasury Department to finish the UIGEA rules by November 19th, the sixty-day review ended Monday, making their removal more difficult for Obama and the Democrats. Wichterman's influence on the devising of the rules raised questions of ethics violations and conflict of interest, as he had been a paid lobbyist against online gambling barely six months before.
New legislation in Congress may give the President more ammunition for eradicating midnight rules. Also, Congressional Democrats are expected to mount a challenge to the UIGEA itself, possibly repealing the law this spring.
The financial industry has complained about the hardship the UIGEA regulations would cause them, as well as the impropriety of being placed in the position of determining what constitutes illegal Internet gambling. The one saving grace for online casino operators is the December 1st date by which banks and credit card companies must be in compliance, allowing time to remove the last-second rules.
