What’s the Deal: I

With new technology comes great responsibility. The world of online slots and casinos has created a hybrid of gambling and internet activity, which individually have both been regulated. However, the mix of the two is so new that the world is still trying to figure out a way to integrate the activity into regular rules and regulations. The United States is thoroughly opposed to online gambling of any kind, although it has yet to release a cohesive set of logical reasons to discredit the merits of the activity.

In 2006, the controversial Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was passed, which basically outlawed any offshore internet slots or casino activity by technically saying that it was the financial transactions for those that were actually being prohibited. Since then, organizations and individuals deemed in violation of the law have been reprimanded, even though the exact rule is vague, at best. In response to the lack of real guidelines, four Republican legislators have come together and written a letter to Secretary Paulson regarding the areas in which the online casino act is lacking.

They have requested, quite officially, that the UIGEA be revisited and revised, and that the official enforcement of the law be delayed until the law can clearly state, for the benefit of individuals partaking in online slots and casino gambling, and also for the websites themselves, what the rules actually are. It is absolutely unfair and unwise for legislators to put a law into effect that is not clear in its guidelines and then try to enforce it. The only effect that empty threats have, are just to deconstruct and weaken exactly the institution they are there to protect. Furthermore, the fact that it is four Republicans seeking the revision means that this is a bipartisan issue, and that both sides see it as a necessary step in the regulation of online slots and casinos.

Back to August 2008 Archive.