Online Gambling 2007: The Year That Wasn't
With 2007 in like a lion and out like a lamb, don't lose hope in the future of online gambling and cash in your chips just yet; the big money's on the online gaming industry taking a turn... for the bettor.
Few industry analysts are optimistic about the prospects of legalising online gambling in the United States. The year closed with the US settling its long dispute with the small Caribbean country of Antigua, a settlement neither side has any real reason to celebrate.
2007 - Year of the Gambling Disputes
In December, the US settled various trade disputes with Canada, Japan and Europe. The root of the disputes between the USA and its trade partners is over the States' passage 15 months ago of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), which was slipped through Congress (in the midnight hour) and under the cover of the Safe Port Act. America's ports are no safer now that online gambling websites have been banned.
The problem most online gaming proponents have with the UIGEA is that the law includes certain exemptions for select types of gambling, specifically state-controlled horseracing and lotteries.
The poker industry is leading the crusade to have the UIGEA repealed. While poker ranks as the leading form of Internet gambling, the web-based poker sites drawing the greatest number of players are all based offshore in jurisdictions where betting online is legal and taxed.
Technology to the Rescue
The good news is, despite the attempts by various governments to control the private behaviours of its taxpaying citizens, the protectionist laws disguised as 'morality' are doomed to fail. The convenient marriage between technology and globalisation are making it increasingly difficult for governments to enforce their own laws. Merely 15 months after the US passed their awful Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) it's clear the act is just that, an act. The 'Enforcement' part appears to be missing from the practical equation. Just last week, America's banks and credit card companies restated their long-held opposition to the demands set forth by the UIGEA. Their argument is that they are in no position to police their clients' financial transactions due the prohibitive costs required. Determining whether a person is transferring money to a pet shop or bingo website is not, say the banks, fiscally feasible.
Perhaps these same governments would be serving their bettors better by paying more attention to the natural laws of supply and demand instead of trying to rewrite them.
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