Online Gambling Industry Satisfied with UIGEA Hearing - 04-08-08

April 8 - In the days leading up to the much-awaited Congressional hearing on the Unlawful Internet Gambling Act in the United States, many wondered how the event would be reported in the mainstream media and what the general message of the hearing would be.

Reactions to the UIGEA hearing, however, have generally been very good, with the main message coming out of the event being that it is literally impossible to get the bill to work in its present form.

One of those called up to testify at the UIGEA hearing was the president of the Interactive Media Gaming and Entertainment Association (IMEGA), who slammed the government for passing the regulatory responsibilities of the law to the country's banking industry. "By imposing unprecedented burdens on the intricate system of financial transactions and payment system instrumentalities - which has up until now been universally recognized as been inherently content-neutral - these proposed regulations run the grave risk of sharply stifling the growth of electronic commerce," he said.

The Poker Player's Alliance was instrumental in creating a live podcast of the UIGEA hearing and issued a statement and summary of the proceedings on its website. Reiterated in this summary was the message conveyed at the hearing, over and over again, by banks and Treasury officials that the law is simply impossible to implement on a practical level.

This message was also relayed in the mainstream media. All the top news agencies, from Reuters to CNET, noted the vague and ambiguous wording of the UIGEA and the difficulty that the banking industry is having in understanding exactly what the government demands of them.

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