Court Upholds UIGEA

September 03, 2009 | News Category: Gaming Law

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Some had expected the US Third Circuit Court of Appeals to stall a decision regarding whether the UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) would be upheld by the court as law, until Barney Frank's online gambling bills would be debated in Congress, however, a decision has been handed down already.

iMEGA (Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association) argued that the UIGEA should be dismissed for vagueness, and because it impinged the rights and privacy of United States citizens on an individual level. The court, however, did not agree with this assessment, and in fact further clarified certain legal points in connection with the UIGEA.

The judges explained that the UIGEA does not actually place a ban on online gambling. Judge Dolores Sloviter said "The Act itself does not make any gambling activity illegal." Judge Sloviter continued to explain that online gambling transactions should only be considered to be breaking the law when the laws of the "state from which the bettor initiates the bet or would treat that bet."

While this news is excellent news for most of the US gambling world, it is unclear how the US will respond to following the law as explained by Judge Sloviter. If it is only up to each individual state whether the gambling transactions are in fact legal or illegal, it could take some time for all the states, that would legally allow gambling, to actually follow that law as it has been interpreted.

Unsurprisingly, this particular interpretation of the law fits in correctly with the United States Constitution.

Joe Brennan, iMEGA's chairman, has explained that at this time, there are only six US states that actually have laws which prohibit online gambling in some form or another. This means that in the remaining 44 states, there are no issues or problems, certainly no legal problems, with online gambling taking place. The only real restriction would be if the online casino is located in one of the six states that has outlawed gambling or online gambling.

Although iMEGA's board members had hoped for the UIGEA to be overturned, this clarification and ruling are still seen in a somewhat positive light, since at this time, the ball is in the court of each individual state.

The near future may well hold some interesting changes for online gambling in the United States, since changes may or may not occur. While the Barney Frank online gambling bills are still waiting in the wings, perhaps they are not as urgent as they had once appeared in the eyes of the online gambling world.