In 2006, the US enforced the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act with the intention of putting an end to online gambling. As a result, many online gambling sites stopped operating and abruptly closed their business to avoid facing severe action from the concerned authorities. However, the inept handling of this law has resulted in chaos. Several states and players are not even aware of this law, and the implications of not obeying it. Those who are well-informed of the law stopped patronizing online gambling, lest they should face prosecution. At the same time, many operators continue with their business without facing any issues right from January 19, 2009 when this law was enacted into legislation.
UIGEA, abbreviated form of Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, is not being effective for the intended purpose, because of the confusion associated with it. There were two components of this law. One was to have a legal framework for operators of gambling sites, involving consideration of many different factors for granting them gambling licenses. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network was responsible for administering this part, while the other part involved categorizing of different games, and specifying the ones that would fall under the scope of the UIGEA.
It is not difficult to see how this law, intended to look after online gambling, went wrong. Because of its disorganized management, it led to a number of issues concerning online gambling business that seemed to have an uncertain future all at once. Because of this law, investors responsible for providing financial assistance to gambling sites started withdrawing their funds suddenly, for fear of going bankrupt. This caused many gambling sites to pull the shutters down on their businesses as they could hardly afford to bear the operational expenses. An increasing number of sites closing down painted a very depressing account of the future of the online gambling industry.
Additionally, more confusion emanated from the implementation of law in a handful of states only. It created a lot of confusion for the affiliates, as many failed to interpret its precise meaning. Many states were unsure if the legislation's intention was to ban Americans from online gambling or joining of gambling sites. In fact, the idea of having formulated law was to have an arrangement covering the entire industry for its streamlining and effective administration.
Players, on their part, stopped playing online games, being uncertain of the consequences. This further affected the business of online gambling. Introduction of mass education campaigns did not really serve their purpose of educating the masses; their impact was not to expectations because of the ambiguity in the law itself. Today, one feels that the UIGEA was just a pretense on the part of the government to put off online gambling by American citizens. It is difficult to understand why the US government decided to ignore the revenue that it could have generated through online gaming. Online gaming sites would have generated a huge tax. Had care been taken to create awareness before enactment of the law, it would have benefited all concerned, the players, industry and the government.
Subsequent launching of an awareness campaign could not really help removing apprehensions of gambling online at different sites. In the present scenario public confidence needs to be restored back enabling people to come back to play their preferred games, failing which, people will continue to hold UIGEA responsible for having ruined the prospects of online gambling.
UIGEA, abbreviated form of Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, is not being effective for the intended purpose, because of the confusion associated with it. There were two components of this law. One was to have a legal framework for operators of gambling sites, involving consideration of many different factors for granting them gambling licenses. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network was responsible for administering this part, while the other part involved categorizing of different games, and specifying the ones that would fall under the scope of the UIGEA.
It is not difficult to see how this law, intended to look after online gambling, went wrong. Because of its disorganized management, it led to a number of issues concerning online gambling business that seemed to have an uncertain future all at once. Because of this law, investors responsible for providing financial assistance to gambling sites started withdrawing their funds suddenly, for fear of going bankrupt. This caused many gambling sites to pull the shutters down on their businesses as they could hardly afford to bear the operational expenses. An increasing number of sites closing down painted a very depressing account of the future of the online gambling industry.
Additionally, more confusion emanated from the implementation of law in a handful of states only. It created a lot of confusion for the affiliates, as many failed to interpret its precise meaning. Many states were unsure if the legislation's intention was to ban Americans from online gambling or joining of gambling sites. In fact, the idea of having formulated law was to have an arrangement covering the entire industry for its streamlining and effective administration.
Players, on their part, stopped playing online games, being uncertain of the consequences. This further affected the business of online gambling. Introduction of mass education campaigns did not really serve their purpose of educating the masses; their impact was not to expectations because of the ambiguity in the law itself. Today, one feels that the UIGEA was just a pretense on the part of the government to put off online gambling by American citizens. It is difficult to understand why the US government decided to ignore the revenue that it could have generated through online gaming. Online gaming sites would have generated a huge tax. Had care been taken to create awareness before enactment of the law, it would have benefited all concerned, the players, industry and the government.
Subsequent launching of an awareness campaign could not really help removing apprehensions of gambling online at different sites. In the present scenario public confidence needs to be restored back enabling people to come back to play their preferred games, failing which, people will continue to hold UIGEA responsible for having ruined the prospects of online gambling.
