What the UIGEA Really Means (Part I of III)

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, or UIGEA, is a confusing document to any layman trying to decipher it. Those in the US have been living under it so they have a better idea of what is at stake here, but there are some from other countries who are going to be traveling to the US and won’t know what is legal and what isn’t.

At the moment, the US is currently the most restrictive in terms of online casino usage due to the passage of the UIGEA. The idea is that originally the bill was signed in as the “SAFE Port Act” which led people to believe that it would protect our maritime trading centers.

However, the bill also added in restrictions against online casino gambling that left many scratching their heads as to what it meant. For starters, Section 5361 explains the findings of the National Impact Study Commission which likened online casino gambling with wire betting as defined in the Wire Act of 1961.

The law was supposed to break up organized crime units, but is now being used to eliminate online gambling. They say that the idea behind the law stands firm and that the internet is equal to the wire in said act.

Next time we will discuss Section 5362 which is the legal definitions that were used to create the UIGEA.