US Online Casinos and Information on UIGEA
What is UIGEA?
UIGEA is the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. After a history of attempting to make online casino gambling illegal altogether for US gamblers, in September 2006, President George Bush attached UIGEA to the SAFE Port Act in order to prevent financial institutions from transferring funds to individuals or businesses for the purposes of gambling. This has created much confusion for those involved in the online gambling industry. The exact restrictions of the Unlawful Gambling Enforcement Act are somewhat ambiguous as are the methods for its control. What is clear, however, is that this Act does not in fact make online gambling illegal for individuals who wish to gamble, but it does affect the payment methods available to US players.
The Ramifications of UIGEA
Many online casinos accepting US players became concerned when UIGEA was passed and as a result they stopped accepting US players altogether. These were typically publicly funded companies who believed that they were acting in the best interests of their shareholders. Some online casinos accept US players from most of the states, but place restrictions on US players from certain states that have stricter controls. There are eleven states were online gambling itself is problematic - Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington, Michigan, New York, New Jersey and Wisconsin. In the remaining 39 of the US states however, gambling online is legal and so there remain many US online casinos. The biggest concern following the signing of UIGEA is the payment methods that are available to US players. Due to the fact that UIGEA targets the transfer of funds for gambling purposes, there have been the most changes in terms of the payment methods that are available to US gamblers.
Payment Methods available to US Players
US online casinos all offer a variety of payment methods that are legal for US players to use when gambling online. While some well-known payment methods are no longer accepting new US customers or are no longer allowing transfers of funds by current US customers, many new payment options are becoming available for US players to use. All of the casinos that are featured on Casino Examine have been examined and are guaranteed to offer the best payment options for US gamblers, in the industry. All of the top US online casinos will offer a variety of payment methods to provide their US customers with the most options and therefore the most convenience possible. The payment methods that are available to US players often change and it is very important, therefore for those US gamblers who wish to gamble online to remain familiar with the laws surrounding online gambling in US. The best way to do this is to visit sites such as Casino Examine who makes sure to verify that the casinos that it lists offer the best payment options available to US players.
There are groups such as the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA) who are fighting the UIGEA Act and therefore there may be changes to the laws that affect casinos accepting us players in the future.
Related News:
- Two Online Casinos Shut Down due to UIGEA October 7, 2008
