American Facing Online Casinos Remain Positive

While legislation passed in the United States in 2006 forced a large withdrawal of many online casino operators from the US market, the few that have remained are staying positive despite the continued restrictions.  Online gambling transactions were significantly effected in 2006 by the passing of the UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act), which set out to put strong limitations on US banks and credit card companies that process gambling related activities.

Although the assumed intention of the bill was to eliminate US players from gambling on the Internet, the actual implementation of the restrictions has been complicated due to numerous payment processors and subsidiaries that handle the transactions.  The initial shock wave of the bill sent many of the top online casinos into a panic which consequently led to a domino affect of US player restrictions that saw some 100+ operators back out of the market.  For the few that have remained, business has never been better with an enormous group of new potential players created by the fallout of the initial pull out.

Some of the more popular casino sites that have recently jumped into the market include Rushmore Casino and Club USA Casino, which both set out to improve the US online gaming experience in lieu of the current setbacks with the hopes of increasing pressure on the US government to re-examine the merits of the 2006 bill.  While recent activity by those who oppose the UIGEA has been positive, we are most likely a while off from seeing any big turning points with regards to the state of online gambling in the US.

The overall consensus regarding the legislation has been that it primarily serves the tax interests of the US government who are presumably losing out on billions of dollars in un-taxable revenue each year to the offshore corporations that run online casino operations.  With that at the core of the issue, a possible resolution to the current legislation will most certainly include provisions to either, regulate online casino wagering for US citizens making them taxable, or, permit American based companies to run government sanctioned casinos online.  Either way, the present climate has frustrated and angered both operators and players alike, and will continue to be a hotly debated issue until such time that change is made.

For more information, see the Wikipedia UIGEA Bill page with updates and definitions.