Home / Poker News August 2008 / Attempted clarification of UIGEA further confuses matters
Attempted clarification of UIGEA further confuses matters
Posted by: James Carter. - Wed, 2008-08-06 17:25
As complaints about the ambiguity of the UIGEA mounted, the need for the clarification of exactly what constituted illegal online gambling became more and more obvious, especially for those institutions which are supposed to take part directly in its implementation. A bill introduced by Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX) appeared to have come to the rescue, designed especially to fill the above named void. At a closer look however, The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Clarification and Implementation Act of 2008 is bitterly disappointing – not only from the poker industry’s perspective. Instead of indeed clarifying the situation as it pompous name would suggest, it does nothing but to further confuse those who will have to actually implement the regulations.
In one instance it affirms that it doesn’t consider any sort of online-transmitted wager - other than those aimed at sports betting - illegal. The UIGEA itself has stated that it wasn’t an extension of federal law in regards to online gambling, and it has been proven – through legal precedents, that the Federal Wire Act of 1961 – the only applicable piece of legislation in the case of online poker –did not consider online poker illegal, thus it couldn’t be considered illegal under the UIGEA either.
Sessions’ bill goes on however to refer to online poker as illegal under the UIGEA, thus not only contradicting itself, but also making a complete abstraction of the legal precedents involving online poker and the Federal Wire Act.
In conclusion, H.R. 6663 (Sessions’ bill) doesn’t end up defining what’s legal and what’s not under the UIGEA, thus defeating its very purpose.
The Poker Players’ Alliance has already made it clear that it couldn’t possibly endorse such a bill, and also noted that the purpose of such a piece of legislation wasn’t at all clear either. The PPA has expressed indignation that a bill meant to nail down the legal status of online poker does nothing but to confuse an issue that had been considered relatively clear.
When this bill will pass and whether it’ll pass at all is not known, although it does have three Democratic Congressmen supporting it.
