Bloggers / Matthew Pitt / 21 April 2009 / Leave a comment

Blogger Matthew Pitt looks at one reason why US-based players currently can't play on Betfair Poker and explains a little about how the law came to pass.

On Friday 13 October 2006, the then President of the United States of America, George W Bush, signed into law the Safe Port Act. Title VIII of the act was the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006. An act that would change the face of internet poker, possibly forever.

The UIGEA prohibits the transfer of funds from a financial institution to an internet gambling site, with the notable exceptions of fantasy sports, online lotteries and horse/harness racing for American citizens.

The way the politicians managed to get the act passed was dubious to say the least. On May 4 2006, the House voted 421-2 to pass the act, followed by a 98-0 vote by the US Senate on September 14, but this act had no mention of the UIGEA that Bush signed into Law on October 13.

Instead it was added at precisely 21:29 on September 29 and the House and Senate unanimously voted it in the following day! No voter who wanted to continue with a career in politics could vote against the safety of America's ports so they essentially had no choice but to vote in this ridiculous law, which put online poker in the same category as terrorism.

The most laughable aspect of the bill is the fact lotteries, fantasy sports and horse racing are allowed as they apparently "reflect relative knowledge of participants or skill at physical reaction or physical manipulation (but not chance)." How on God's Earth can gambling on the, taxable, National Lotteries be skilful yet poker not?

Why should anyone care if the American public cannot freely play online poker? Well apart from the fact they should have the freedom to do as they wish with their own money, the passing of the act has made the games much harder than in past years.

As it is more difficult to transfer money to and from sites for US customers, a lot of the recreational players simply will not bother trying, leaving only a knowledgeable player base who deposit and withdraw money. Also, many sites no longer allow any customers at all from the USA, cutting the amount of traffic to their site meaning less player liquidity and far less cash flowing around for players to potentially win.

In my humble opinion, it boils down the the US government not being able to regulate and tax online poker played by their citizens where they can through the other methods.

Further Reading

The UIGEA Era Begins - Hardboiledpoker
If the UIGEA is repealed... Raise The River Forum Discussion
UIGEA - Wikipedia Entry

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