Online Casino Affiliates Could be in Trouble

A new case involving Amazon.com could end up very badly for the online casino industry. According to experts, how the case ends up could have some far reaching consequences for those that don’t actually have online casinos themselves, but do have ties to them – as it would lump them all in together.

Currently online casino affiliates are exempt from the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act because they do not run an online casino themselves. Instead, although they are associated with an online casino, they do not have to worry about prosecution due to the UIGEA.

But New York currently has a dispute going on with Amazon that could change that. They are trying to tax the e-commerce business, even though it is Seattle based. However, in order to get at Amazon, they are going after their online affiliates and trying to tax them in the same manner as if they were actually part of Amazon.com.

This means that all of those companies affiliated with Amazon.com could now be facing tax liabilities within the state of New York because so many of them are actually located there. But what seems on the surface as a simple tax dispute could change everything for the online casino industry.

This could end up with the affiliates no longer having the protection of the online casino when it comes to the UIGEA. It could make them just as liable, which would allow the government to go after them as well as the online casino. This is a big problem because even though the online casino might not be located in the United States, many of their affiliates are.