Home / Poker News November 2009 / The real significance of the UIGEA delay
The real significance of the UIGEA delay
Posted by: James Carter. - Mon, 2009-11-30 12:20
During all the fuss following the US Department of Treasury and Federal Reserve Board’s announcement that the 2006 UIGEA’s compliance date has been pushed back till June 1st 2010, the significance of the move may have been understated. Most online
poker news portals hailed the event as a breath of fresh air for the beleaguered online poker industry, but also pointed it out that 6 months were 6 months and besides being 6 months less than the initial 1 year postponement requested by the PPA in a petition, it was just a relatively insignificant gain in the face of the inevitable.
Apparently though, the significance of Timothy Geithner’s move is much deeper than that. First and above all, it suggests that there is a political will on the level of the government to finally tackle the issue of the status of online poker, possibly leading tolegalization and regulation. Secondly, it is a testimony to rep.
Barney Frank’s power, who besides being in a perfect position to help the legalization of online poker (and gambling), is one of the staunchest supporters of such a move.
With such a powerful figure in its corner, who knows, maybe the online poker industry can’t lose after all.
Frank had obviously had prior knowledge that the postponement of the UIGEA compliance would be approved. He had scheduled a hearing a few days before the Dept. of Treasury’s announcement, for his two poker related bills (namely HR 2266 and HR 2267) for December 3rd, a move which would’ve made no sense had he not known about the postponement.
While 6 months is just that, half a year, it is well enough time for legislators to finally clarify the issue of what passes as “unlawful internet gambling” in the UIGEA, thus possibly exempting
online poker from under its provisions. It is also enough time for one of Frank’s Bills to be make enough progress to undo the effects of an obviously ill-advised, hurriedly put together act that – may I remind you yet again – was passed attached to an unrelated law of vital significance no one could afford to vote against.
If we look at it in this light, the significance of the UIGEA compliance delay may indeed be a different story altogether. It may be the beginning of the end for this legal fiasco that the UIGEA turned out to be.
