Commenting on Proposed Regulations for UIGEA Deadline Nearing
The UIGEA was passed into law last year and the government is currently seeking comments on proposed rules that will govern the law. Comments must be received by the Department of the Treasury or the Federal Reserve Board , who were tasked with formulating them, by December 12.
Several financial and banking industry members have submitted comments that indicate the proposed rules are cumbersome, expensive, and impossible to follow and impossible for them to perform adequate due diligence.
Many Americans that have submitted comments are seeking to have certain 'skill' games exempted.
Racetracks around the country have responded that they believe such rules will impact their business of taking wagers on races.
Other prominent organizations point out severe flaws in the rules and inadequate cost projections.
And now, Focus on the Family is encouraging its followers to enter comments to push their ideology into the law and make it stronger, claiming that Internet gambling is 'out of control.'
This comment period is an important step to design rules for the UIGEA, and it is one of the few ways that concerned citizens can have a real voice in government. All comments must be read and analyzed, and any that are deemed relevant and/or constructive will be included in the law.
The Online Casino Advisory sees this entire law as an infringement on personal freedoms of Americans, and a violation of trade agreements the U.S. entered in the World Trade Organization in the mid-90's.
The law does not define what is legal or 'illegal', and further states that it does not modify any existing laws. The only law that it affects is the 1961 Wire Act which criminalizes sports betting over telephone lines, and was later updated to include any type of communication devices.
In that the law does not define 'illegal gambling' and only prevents money transfers to foreign companies, the law is extremely prejudicial and protectionist.
The Department of the Treasury and the Federal Reserve Board, acting with the Department of Justice to formulate the rules, have publicly stated that they failed to identify 'illegal gambling' due to the fact that there are varying laws from all 50 states and it would be impossible for them to do so.
Catherine Hanaway, a U.S. Attorney in Minnesota, is prosecuting high profile sports wagering cases and has given testimony to the House Judiciary Committee in a hearing held last month that it is 'not' illegal for Americans to gamble over the Internet.
The UIGEA does not make it illegal to gamble over the Internet, it merely prevents Americans from doing so by outlawing the means by which to fund an account.
There are many Americans that travel to other countries where Internet gambling is legal, and while there, partake in this activity, with the UIGEA and it's proposed rules, Americans will be denied this ability as their financial institutions will be made to dis-allow such funds transfers.
It should also be noted that not all forms of money transfers will be blocked. Checks will not be blocked due to the inability of financial institutions to read them electronically and to do so by hand would cause an extremely costly and time consuming task.
Finally, the proposed rules deputize banks and financial institutions and make them the enforcer of this law. There is much wrong with this approach. the clearest is that over-blocking will occur and legitimate transactions will be denied, and the consumer will have no recourse as the proposed rules explicitly state that such over-blocking is exempt from retaliation by those affected.
If you believe that your rights and freedoms are being abridged, you have the obligation to comment on these proposed rules. You can do so by going to
federal reserve form where you can enter you comments on the proposed rules.
