UIGEA News - Can Online Gambling Law Be Enforced?

Those looking for analysis of the fallout from the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act should take a look at a recent article at the Cardplayer.com poker news section.

The article discusses the process of lawmaking, including the 270 day timeline the Bush administration is supposed to take in setting guidelines for the bank institutions involved. According to the article, that timeline will come full term in the middle of June.

ALBERTO GONZALES

The Department of Justice is called on to set the guidelines. But with Alberto Gonzales mired in a scandal which could cost him his job as Attorney General, the DoJ is in the "still looking" phase. This means the Justice Department is nowhere near to prosecuting individuals for their part in online gambling crimes.

It would seem that Alberto Gonzales isn't exactly enthusiastic about the concept of a whole string of onlien gambling prosecutions, those this might be entirely tied to his current political problems. The AG was happy to prosecute the guys from betonsports.

A HEADACHE FOR EVERYONE INVOLVED

One reason for the lack of enthusiasm is the logistical problems with enforcing the legislation. These are several ways to get around the law, including players and online casinos simply writing checks to one another. The big American banking institutions have already let President Bush and his administration they would not be happy verifying checks. As one bank president said, their bank is being asked to act as law enforcement.

Of course, banks would like to get on with their job of making and hoarding money. To enforce the UIGEA, banks estimate they would have to check 40 million checks per year. These would have to be done manually, which would incur prohibitive costs.

From the Cardplayer article, it looks like this may be a case of the Congress passing yet another law that is virtually unenforceable.

UIGEA News - Can Online Gambling Law Be Enforced?