The withdrawal from US online casino market last week by ePassporte sent shock waves through the American players' community. ePassporte was one of the major online money transfer processor for US customers and facilitated the opportunity to continue gambling on the Internet, which since the UIGEA legislation in 2006 has been severely restricted. The UIGEA does in fact not prohibit online gambling, but prohibits US financial institutions from conducting transfers with such sites. ePassporte and like money processors provide a loophole from which US based players can fund their online gambling without breaking the law.
After the shock had died away and the dust settled over the news, it appeared that the damage is not that profound. A leading blog, ucasinos.blogspot.com, has provided a thorough list over payment methods which still can be used by US players to fund their casino gambling. For instance eWallet Express should still be in the game. Furthermore, the site also provides a list over casinos still accepting US players in spite of the UIGEA.
When all comes to all, there are myriads of ways to circumvent the UIGEA legislation, and anyone persistent enough will find his way to the casino table, whether it is online or not. These loopholes in the gambling legislation once again present the question if it would not have been better to find compromise and restrictive co-operation rather than a ban. This discussion over casino legislation is still ongoing, and the ePassporte incident is just a small ripple on the water, with no sight of an immediate solution at hand.
|
