The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act or better known as the UIGEA was signed into law on October 13, 2006. The UIGEA objective was to stop the transfer of funds from any USA financial institution to a online gambling websites, excluding USA based websites for lotteries and horse racing. As a result, this legislation caused many online poker and sports betting sites to stop accepting players from the United States. The law actually forced many online gambling and poker sites, that were publicly traded, to stop taking players and bets from American players. The sites or companies that were hardest hit were Party Poker (Party Gaming), Paradise Poker (Sporting Bet), Pacific Poker (888), Pokerroom.com (BWIN) The UIGEA was attached to the PORT SECURITY ACT as a last minute maneuver by Senator Bill Frist (rep), Jim Leach (rep), and Robert Goodlatte (rep) in order to try to stop Americans from playing online poker from online. They had no idea how many millions of Americans they upset Bill Frist, who was hoping for the Presidential Nomination was asked to step down from politics. Jim Leach, who was a shoe in for being reelected in Iowa, did not win a few months later in November (thanks to the Poker Players Alliance lobbyist). The sad thing about the UIGEA was it was a law that was really unenforceable. You just cant stop offshore transfers of money from bank wires, checks, Western Union, Money Gram, or pre paid visa cards. The UIGEA hurt the Freedoms of American Poker players who feel they have earned the right to have the freedom to play online poker in their own free time. It should not be the thoughts and controls of a few former Republicans who do not understand the game of online poker to decide what freedoms Americans should enjoy.
uigea.net Copyright© 2006 - 2010. All rights reserved