When the United States initiated the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in 2006, the world of online gambling nearly came to a shuddering halt with the ramifications implied in the Act.
Many massive online gambling providers, specifically those invested almost exclusively in the US, struggled to cope with the new legislation, and many smaller companies were either declared defunct and bankrupt, or joined forces to tackle the remaining global markets, such as Europe. Larger providers either settled on a narrower focus, or pulled out of the US completely, and are still feeling the crunch of losing the US online gambling markets (arguably one of the biggest target audiences available).
On Wednesday, 19 May 2010, the United States House Committee on Ways and Means will review the tax proposals pertaining to online gambling in the United States. This particular committee has jurisdiction regarding taxation purposes, and although this situation is not as rosy in terms of allowing full access to the US online gambling markets, like before, the potential for being allowed back inside US borders and online domains is nevertheless a plausible one. The House Committee will be looking at creating some form of taxable system applicable to online gambling. In effect, the best positive outcome would be a return to US markets, but under very strict rules and regulations, as well as the added weight of taxes.
UIGEA’s current stance on online gambling lies in the generic inability to constantly monitor any funding forwarded from credit providers for online gambling purposes. For this reason, such fund transfers were deemed illegal, effectively denying any potential online gambling aficionados the chance of receiving funds to gamble with from any bank or financial institute. On the 1st of June 2010, the second phase of the overall UIGEA legislative motion will be instituted, demanding full compliance from financial authorities. The Committee will also bring proposals to legalise online gambling in the US again, positing a stance that there are plenty of taxable avenues intrinsic to legal online gambling. All of these proposals will be backed by research and findings based on the electronic commerce side of matters, and how these providers do and might feature in any possible re-legalisation process.
Arguably, the world of online gambling would heave a collective sigh of relief if the US was to once again open its electronic borders to online gambling, even if it meant a heavily-regulated and stringent adherence to whatever gambling legislation might be instituted. Until such clarification hits the newsstands, online gambling providers can only wait with bated breath and fingers crossed for possible good news.
