Despite the arduous efforts of the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) and various other online poker advocacy groups, last Wednesday night, the loathsome UIGEA has been made official and will be made effective as of January 19, 2009 (coincidentally the day before the White House administration changes hands – or maybe not so coincidentally).
If you’ve had your head under a rock these past months, the vaguely-written UIGEA or the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act will make it extremely difficult if not impossible for internet poker sites to make their games available to players in the United States.
Relying on relationships between online poker merchants, banking institutions, and state and federal government regulations on illegal gambling, poker sites will be required to comply by UIGEA regulations by December 1, 2009 or risk being shut down.
It’s not to late to make your voice heard on the subject, however. You can still call you congressperson to protest the action as well as write an email to President-Elect Obama’s Transition Team to request that, once inaugurated, Obama reverse the decision.
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Tue, Nov 18, 2008
Poker Laws