UIGEA last minute regulation upgrade - Online Bingo News

America's infamous UIGEA that was super-sneakily tacked on to the end of the Ports Bill back in October 2006 by the Republicans, is now being desperately rehashed in a race against time, before the new administration steps into power.

The initial UIGEA was drafted by Congress in late 2006, and constituted a heavy blow for the online gambling industry, many companies including online bingo, casino, poker, sportsbooks and payment processors were thus forced out of the US market.

According to a Dow Jones report published this week, the US Treasury has been redrafting the UIGEA regulations over the last few months in the hope of pushing them through before the Bush administration leaves power at the end of the year.

This last-minute dash to push through controversial regulations is standard practice during administration changes in the US government, and is commonly known as a 'midnight drop'.

The updated UIGEA draft rules penned by the Treasury in October 2007 hasn't been able to resolve the problem of being able to clearly define what is meant by an 'illegal transaction'. A new draft was submitted on 21 of last month to the Office of Management and Budget.

The Poker Players Alliance has been in constant opposition to the UIGEA, "It's really remarkable that this administration would try to push this out given the burden it would place on financial institutions at this time of financial crisis."

Together with the large-scale domain seizure of bingo, casino and poker, even software provider sites in Kentucky still fresh, the online gambling scene in the USA is in disarray. Hopefully clarity will be found soon so that everyone is free to enjoy a game of bingo online, or blackjack or whatever your fancy - no matter where you live.

Written by Charlene Grey for BingoStreet.com – BingoStreet Pink Laptop Giveaway submit your entries by Nov 20 latest to win a free laptop!