Internet Gambling Laws and American Poker Players - Jim Leach and the UIGEA

There has been a lot written about the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. Because it's a new law, there has been a lot of panic in the industry about who is legal and who isn't. A lot of players believe their online gambling is now illegal.

But there's a lot of misinformation out there. If it was not illegal in your region to gamble before the UIGEA, then it is not illegal now. The act does not make gambling illegal anywhere it was legal before.

What the new law tries to do is clarify the enforcement of old laws. Specifically, it tries to single out the online financial institutions which transact business between the online casinos and their gambling customers.

I found a good article out there for those who want to know more about the new legal situation. It discusses the new gambling law.

This article describes how the law works and whether players should be concerned about playing poker online. A major topic is whether online gambling is illegal and what the definition of the term "unlawful internet gambling" is.

It pays to know the legal implications of laws which might affect you. I would suggest that players and poker affiliates read up on the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. You'll be amazed to read the play-by-play of how the law came to be, and how a gambling bill becomes attached to a Port security Bill.

THE SAD CASE OF JIM LEACH

For example, did you know that Jim Leach, the Republican congressman who championed the gambling bill in House of Representatives, lost reelection due to his actions?

Our "Green Velvet Revolution" went after candidates which pushed through the bill at the last moment, and is given credit by none other than Bob Novak for killing Leach's candidacy.

The Poker Players Alliance funded a survey to figure out how large a part the gambling legislation played in the vote against Leach, who lost 51% to 48% to a college professor, of all things. It turns out that the late gambling legislation may have been tipped the vote as much as 5%.

The fact is, there are a lot of gamblers out there. The constituency is growing every day, as online poker and television poker becomes more mainstream. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act outraged off a whole lot of those gamblers. It also forced them to organize, lest the Congress take away our liberty to spend our money the way we see fit.

Lawmakers need to know about the case of Jim Leach, so they will get on board with the new pro-gambling legislation which Barney Frank is writing. As for the rest of us, I want to do my part to inform people of the laws that do exist, so you will continue to "dare to gamble".

Internet Gambling Laws and American Poker Players - Jim Leach and the UIGEA