US attacked over web gambling ban

The current internet gambling ban creates significant additional burdens for US financial institutions

The Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative (SSIGI) has announced its support for new legislation that would prohibit the Department of the Treasury and Federal Reserve System from proposing, prescribing or implementing any regulations related to the current ban on internet gambling.

The bill, introduced by Barney Frank and Ron Paul, is the latest in a series of attacks on the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA).

"The Frank-Paul bill would stop the US government from taking any further steps on regulations that would require all the country's financial institutions to block internet gambling payments," said SSIGI spokesman Jeff Sandman.

"It's a bold move, but a necessary one in light of the warnings from the Treasury and Federal Reserve that they did not know how to write regulations to solve the problems created by UIGEA.

"Further, witnesses representing a broad spectrum of the financial services community unanimously stated that the current ban on internet gambling is dangerous to the payments system and ineffective in stopping people from using the internet to play poker, make bets on horses or engage in other types of wagering."

Some argue that the current internet gambling ban creates significant additional burdens for US financial institutions, arguing that it is unfair to turn them into the "internet gambling police".

Testimony before Congress earlier this month offered proof that financial services institutions would face serious regulatory burdens in attempting to enforce UIGEA and related regulations, which is unlikely to stop millions of Americans from gambling online.