October 1 - The United States Senate has passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 in a spectacular display of hypocrisy, meaningless toadying to right-wing zealots, and a blatant attempt to protect the horse racing, tribal casino, and state lottery lobbies.
Those forms of online gambling are not deemed unlawful, immoral, or to be threatening the apparently gossamer-thin fabric of American society. Which then are the forms of online gambling that are said to be perniciously preying upon the United States? Why the ones that did not contribute towards certain Republican senators' campaigns, obviously.
(Red State Americans please take note - the following paragraph contains both sarcasm and irony and attempts to read these remarks literally, in the same way as some people try to read the Bible literally, may cause your head to swivel around violently thereby forcing your kin-folk to call for an exorcist) Now everyone knows that many online gambling businesses that operate in shadowy netherworlds like England, Australia, and Austria are really fronts for nefarious acts like money laundering or funding of terrorism, and that they promote a host of ungodly activities that corrupt impressionable youths and feed the addictive personalities of the weak-willed. These sportsbooks, poker rooms, and casinos are perverse dens of iniquity that take advantage of man's sinful nature (alas, the flesh is weak and the Evil One does not rest when he is online!) and leads many in serpentine fashion to a virtual Gomorrah where Harry Potter is the only Good Book, poker is on ESPN as a sport, and Americans rob, steal and eventually become demented as they spend every penny they have gambling online.
See, when the terrorists are not attacking every American's freedom in Iraq they must be secretly setting the lines for Monday Night Football - this is the quality of thinking in the American government today, and what's worse than this absolute intellectual poverty is that they actually seem to believe their own putrid drivel.
And so we are faced with the fact that the American government has passed additional legislation to demonize select forms of Internet gambling, putting enormous pressure on US-based financial institutions to cease doing business with online gambling companies.
But what is the real impact of this Act?
The Act does not amend the anachronistic Wire Act of 1961, and it does not explicitly prevent Americans from gambling online. It seeks to make it much harder for Americans to finance their wagering, however. The real victims of this bill are US Banks and one wonders how they will react to this bad news.
American banks now have 270 days, according to the Act, to work out a way to enforce the legislation. Banks will have to stop EFTs that they feel are headed to online gambling operations. That means all EFTs will have to be coded, and gambling-related EFTs will be flagged. This might not be feasible, or it might prove ridiculously expensive to implement and then administer. So maybe the banks will say it can't be done and it will all fade away (pleasant thought, perhaps slightly wishful).
The key player here is NETeller. They might decide to stop dealing with American-based customers. They're not based in the USA but they are currently in Canada, which has about as much autonomy from America as a Jewish son has from his mom. Perhaps NETeller will relocate to Ireland, following in the brave footsteps of Cryptologic? Perhaps not. The bottom line is that whatever NETeller does it won't stop Americans from gambling online. NETeller sprung up when PayPal waved the white flag, and if NETeller falls another financial institution will perform the same service within 24 hours.
All the legislation achieves in the long run is the possibility of making online gamblers less safe, because reputable companies could get scared and bow out allowing less-reputable companies to fill the space. I'm not saying this will happen, but NETeller could buckle and they provide a fantastic service, so that would be a shame.
This Act does serve one important purpose: It disabuses everyone of the notion that it isn't necessarily a bad idea to host a gambling-related website on an American server. It is a very bad idea, and now probably a crime. If you're an affiliate website and you host on an American ISP now would be a good time to see if your passport (Red State Americans please note - it's a little blue book that is empty inside except for that one idealistic time when you went to Tijuana to convert streetwalkers to the Lord) is valid.
If you run an actual online gambling website out of America (as opposed to just marketing one as an affiliate, which is a noble profession and very praiseworthy) then sadly you are an idiot and probably not smart enough to step out of the way of an oncoming bus let alone this bill, which is very vicious indeed when it comes to this particular matter. Oh, but if you run a state lottery, or a horseracing website then that doesn't qualify as online gambling, at least not as far as the US Senate is concerned, so you'll be fine and dandy.
This Act is going to undermine confidence in the online gambling sector, it's going to frighten off investors, prevent senior online gambling executives from venturing anywhere close to the USA, and cost the banking sector millions and millions of dollars. It was designed to do all of this. It will not stop individuals from gambling online, and it will not stop the unregulated annual flow of billions of US$ out to offshore companies instead of taxing that money in America. It was never designed to do anything useful like that. Instead it will make all our lives a little more annoying - the very essence of what this government is so adept at doing.
Related Gambling Articles:
- Playtech Online Casino Sites To Block US Residents - 10-03-06
- Online Gambling Giants Shut Door On US Players - 10-03-06
- Monday Night Football Packers At Eagles Free NFL Pick - 10-02-06
- Online Casino Portal Giving Away An Ipod in October - 10-02-06
- Online Poker Room Offers NFL Football Team Tournaments - 10-01-06
- Online Casino Purchases Cruise Baby Poop - 09-30-06
- NFL Betting Free Preview And Picks For Week 4 - 09-29-06
- Online Casino On A Chocolate Rush - 09-29-06
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