No Federal Online Casino Legislation in 2010

December 21, 2010 | News Category: Gaming Law

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With 2010 coming to a close, there are many disappointed online casino players in the United States. What had seemed a hopeful, and likely, chance of the United States legalizing online gambling, has quickly fallen away.

After the mid-term elections, the Republicans will once again be in the majority, with the Democrats having lost some of their seats. For online gambling legislation, this is certainly not a good thing. Of course, there could be a slight chance that some of the Republicans have done an about face, and that Barney Frank's online gambling legislation could be pushed through with a majority of Republicans, but this is not likely.

It is important to remember that the Republicans were the ones who managed to quietly pass anti-gambling legislation in the form of the UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act), hidden in the Port bill.

There was some hope that the Democrats would try to push the legislation through in the current Lame Duck Session, however, this did not happen, and with only a few days left of 2010, there will be no online gambling legislation on a Federal level to speak of. There are some smaller victories, such as in the state of New Jersey, where online gambling legislation is moving forward.

Those who live in the United States are simply going to have to continue as they are at this time, with the UIGEA still being the online gambling law that will be governing the US. Players, and even those who do not play, will continue to be frustrated that the government has decided what they can and cannot do in their leisure time. Essentially, the government is saying that their citizens may not spend their own hard earned money on the leisure activity that may well be their favorite.

An important point for online gamblers in the United States to remember is that even though the UIGEA may make things a little more complicated when it comes to online gambling financial transactions, there is nothing in the UIGEA itself that forbids citizens and residents of the United States from gambling online.

No one can really predict what the future of legalized and regulated online gambling will be in the United States. There are those who believe that it will not be dealt with again until the Democrats once again are the majority. It does, however, seem likely that individual states may well formulate their own online gambling legislation, just as is happening in New Jersey and other locations at this time.