Archive for the ‘UIGEA’ Category

Online casinos and poker rooms are undergoing such rapid and dramatic changes, it?s difficult for many players and industry insiders to keep track. Also, it?s a safe bet things are going to change even more drastically as more countries and regions gear-up or shut out online gambling business and the millions of gamblers globally. To help refresh your memory and/or put into better perspective the direction in which the online gambling world is currently heading, our gambling news department has highlighted the top news stories concerning gaming in general and online betting in particular.

Yahoo! Joins Online Poker Game

May 1, 2007 — May certainly started off with a bang as Yahoo! announced their entry into the massively popular online poker biz with Yahoo! Poker, a real-money online poker room. Yahoo!?s new website was developed in partnership with St. Minver Limited, an online services provider for Gibraltar-based European gaming networks. Due to the prohibition on Internet wagering in the U.S., American residents shall not be permitted to play at the new online poker venue.

Playtech keeping it reel with new slots games

May 2, 2007 — Playtech, perhaps ?the? leading online casino games developer continues to pave new online gaming roads with the addition of 3 brand new games to its already popular casino gaming repertoire. The new slots include the animated 50-line ‘Thrill Seekers,’ which is designed around an amusement park theme and comprises animated flash technology. Football fans around the world are expected to get a rush with Playtech?s ‘Football Rules,’ a new five-reel, 25-line video slots game sporting a football theme. ‘The Alien Hunter’ boasts a 5-reel, 25-line video slot machine game designed with a sci-fi theme.

Nevada Democrat proposes new Internet gambling bill

May 6, 2007 — Following in the footsteps of fellow Democrat, Rep. Barney Frank ? and Frank?s calls for overturning the U.S.’ Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act ? House Rep. Shelley Berkley initiated a call for Congress to support a bill proposing a 12-month Internet gambling study by the National Academy of Sciences. Berkley pointed out that one of the advantages of her proposed legislation is that it doesn?t take any one side of the issue, that is, whether gambling is good or bad. Berkley proposed her legislation just one week following Massachusetts? Democratic Rep., Barney Frank, introduced his bill calling for rescinding the recent U.S. law prohibiting online wagering.

U.S. slights WTO with online poker deletion

May 10, 2007 ? In its latest attempt to avoid penalties and other negative repercussions resulting from the WTO?s latest decision ruling in favour of Antigua over America’s not-so-fair trade practices, the United States announced its decision to modify its original World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments, in particular the removal of online gambling from its services agreement. The move sparked immediate condemnation from gaming biz operators in particular and foreign government officials in general. Because the US move is considered protectionist, Antigua opted for the WTO as the best possible stage for confronting the United States of America.

Virgin expanding group?s online gaming presence

May 25, 2007 — Virgin-owned Internet gaming website, Virgin Games, announced the unveiling of Virgin Bets, their latest addition to the group’s already star-studded lineup of gambling services including Virgin Poker, Virgin Casino, Virgin Bingo, and Virgin Skill.

CPA?s jumping on gambling broadband wagon

May 31, 2007 ? With so much money at stake for both players and the operators behind the hugely popular online casino games, increasingly more online gaming providers are enlisting the services auditors in order to satisfy the growing demands among gamblers for absolute http://www.casinosviplounge.com/trust-is-a-must.html>fair-gaming practices and greater overall integrity. Renowned CPA groups including Deloitt Touche and Price Waterhouse Coopers, just to name a couple, are already invested in the online gambling industry and have been carrying out audits on numerous online casinos for a number of years now. Most industry insiders agree this trend shall continue.

The recent back-door legislation which outlawed online gambling in the USA has been championed as a moral cause. This is in direct opposition to a Gallup Poll taken earlier this year which found that 60 percent of adults believe gambling is morally acceptable.

Chief sponsor Jim Leach (R-Iowa) has called it one of the most important pieces of family legislation ever considered by lawmakers. Although by his own admission, gambling is not prohibited by either the Bible or the Quran, he sees a pastoral function in the new law, in that it will protect the rapidly-eroding values of family life.

Others see more of a self-promoting political function in the legislation, believing it was intended to gain support from the religious right for Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist if he decides to run for president in 2008.

Gambling in itself is not inherently immoral. Many people enjoy a flutter, spending a small proportion of their leisure money on their chosen sport, whether it be poker, football or horse racing. At this level, it is little more than an innocent pastime.

Who comes out on top is a matter for debate. What isn’t is the fact that this ill-conceived and hypocritical piece of legislation will one day be overturned and consigned to the rubbish bin of history where it undoubtedly belongs.

You always hear anti gamblers talking about casinos and bookmakers being the real winners and in most cases, and on a whole they are. They have hundreds of thousands of people playing, or course they are going to win on the whole.

But single players do not give two hoots about that. Why? Because what the casino makes out of others is nothing to do with them. They simply do not care if John Boy down the road wins or loses $1000.00 as it is none of anyones business except John Boy’s.

It is you against the casino, nothing else matters. If you win $500 against the casino, who is the winner? You are. Yes, the casino will see that as small fry, they probably collect that sum every ten minutes. But the fact that you have won is the basis on which you can say “I won $500! the casino did not win anything from me today!”.

The fact that many others always assume that the casinos are the real winners is becuase there only looking at the big picture. You could put the whole scenario into golf or any other sport for that matter. A players comes first at the PGA, yes he is the winner and everyone will talk about the winner. But, another golfer may have made the cut, to that player, that is like winning in itself as that is what they have aimed for.

Neutrals need to take the smaller pictures into account, certain players will only stake $1 and come away with half a million, who is the real winner then? No one likes to lose, most do when it comes to online gambling. It is a business and like every business they have to make money. If in the meantime a few players win some nice money that will change their lives then so be it. Let them be the real winners, even if it is just for a day or so.

When you visit an online casino list you know there are many to choose from but you will never know which one will give you that one chance to be the “real winner” for the day.

With the introduction of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in 2006, many online casinos have stopped accepting USA players on their websites. Also because of this law commercial banks have refused to carry out any transactions relating to internet gambling on their customers’ behalf, making it very difficult for USA players to deposit funds to the online casino accounts. Luckily for those USA players who just won’t give up on online gambling there are still some online casinos that are accepting USA players to their websites despite the risk.

The good news is, of the more than 2,000 online gambling websites ready and willing to show gamblers a good time, the overwhelming majority are totally on the up and up, kosher, legit, and absolutely worthy of your business. And of course, as in any industry, there are always those few dirty rotten swindlers responsible for giving the online gaming biz its less-than-nun-like reputation and consequently ruining things for the rest of us. So how can you know which gambling sites to trust?

Taking stock in publicly traded casinos

The fastest and easiest way to determine whether or not the online casino you?re about to deposit money with is indeed reliable is to first determine who in fact the operators of a particular gambling website are. Of the 2,000 out there, many are solo or limited multi-site operations. And then there are the major online gambling site operators managing often more than 10 gaming websites spanning the entire range of games including the ever-popular classics like poker, roulette, baccarat, slots, craps, blackjack, backgammon, keno, and bingo etc. These ?biggies? are often publicly traded firms which are subject to regular audits covering various aspects of the online gaming sector ? beyond what may be common practice in other industries. For instance, the Random Number Generators driving online slots games undergo regular testing and must adhere to very strict guidelines. Granted, these public companies must ultimately answer to their shareholders, but like any business, should you fail to keep your clients satisfied first and foremost, they simply won?t want to play with you any more.

Trust is a must

Not all of these larger organizations advertise the fact that they?re part of a bigger consortium, thus making it slightly more difficult to know for sure. PartyGaming, for instance, makes no secret of the fact that they run a number of their own sites such as PartyPoker, PartyBingo, PartyCasino, and PartyGammon. PartyGaming also licenses out their software on which the games run to other gambling site operators outside the PartyGaming clan, as do many of the major gaming software developers like Playtech and Cryptologic, just to name a couple. Though these also publicly traded casino games developers may not operate their own gaming sites per se, they do license out their wares, however softly

Bettor shop around

Thus, software providers, especially the majors, are hell-bent on making certain that the games their licensees are providing remain consistently random. Anything less than fair-gaming practices and you can bet the software firm behind a casino site?s games will be cutting and running before the gambling bloggers and forums get word of any misdealings. After all, with so much competition out there, especially in light ? or rather darkness ? of the US Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) and the ease in which gamblers can click from site to site, at the end of the gaming day the players are holding the cards.

How many of you remember the famous movie Casablanca? There is a scene in which Louis (the police chief) has just told Rick (Humphrey Bogart that he is shutting down his cafe. When Rick inquires why, the police chief, as he is being handed gambling winnings from the cafe’s cashier, says “I am shocked, shocked to find out that gambling is going on here.” Hypocrisy right? But thats the same kind of logic used in the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act passed in 2006.

A brief inquiry into the history of this bill and the means by which it was passed reveals the hypocrisy of so many that it is truly shocking. The bill was tacked on to the Port Security Act by Republican Bill Frist (R-Tennessee) shortly before the bill was presented in the middle of the night with no time for debate. In fact many in congress were totally unaware of this ridiculous addition to a much needed bill to ensure port safety and security.

As it turns out Senator Frist has some serious ethical problems of his own including, campaign finance law violations, and insider trading. Frist said that he was concerned about minors gambling online which would be a good point if it were true. A recent 60 Minutes episode had a minor trying to access various gaming sites without success. Another argument given was to “protect public safety and morals”. Given the wide variety of pornography, bomb making, and drug manufacturing available on the internet to users of any age the argument seems absurd.

Another argument frequently used by conservatives is that gambling possibly could support terrorism. Terrorism seems to be invoked whenever the current administration needs to find a justification for bills that would restrict or limit rights enumerated in the US constitution. To date there has not been one documented event or incident linking online gambling to terrorism or money laundering. Terrorism is a serious business but when it is used as a smokescreen to justify the current administration’s agenda the public may tend to ignore credible threats.

When gaming industry tried to reach Frist there was no response but a referral to a statement issued to a special interest religious group. Essentially Frist said that brick and mortar casinos were ok but somehow online gaming is somehow more objectionable. With new software that blocks minors from playing on online sites Mr. Frist’s arguments become moot. Essentially Mr. Frist is pandering to a tiny minority that welcomes government intrusion into their lives.

A vast majority of Americans resent government intrusion into their private lives but somehow government never seems to get the message. Most reasonable people would agree that what a person does in the privacy of their own home or how they choose to dispose of their money is their own business and those adults are fully capable of making informed decisions about the way they choose to conduct their lives.

Take the example of online bingo, a traditionally socially acceptable form of gambling. Charitable organizations and churches have been using bingo as a fundraising tool for decades. Not everyone, especially those in remote and rural areas has access to these games but still desire to play bingo. The internet is the obvious solution for these citizens and to deny them access to online bingo would essentially make them unequal merely because of their location. These players are making a choice to play from the privacy of their own homes and spending their own hard earned dollars and what government entity has the right to say they can’t?

A new bill submitted for consideration in congress by Barney Frank (D-Mass) would essentially repeal the bad piece of legislation that is the Uniform Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. It would regulate and possibly tax internet gaming and the revenues generated would help several government programs. Frank is joined by Ron Paul (R-Texas) a Republican who believes that citizens are capable of making their own decisions making him one of the few to adhere to the founding principles of his party. A companion bill to Frank’s was introduced by Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) which essentially allow gaming revenues to be taxed.

Another ray of hope is a lawsuit filed by the Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association against Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Federal Reserve. The lawsuit seeks to halt enforcement of the UIGEA on the grounds that it is an infringement on the rights of free speech, freedom of association, and equal protection under the law. The lawsuit has asked the court for a temporary restraining order. Unfortunately as it is, occasionally a lawsuit is the only way to void a bad piece of legislation.

Our constitution allows citizens to petition the government for redress of grievances and time and time again this has been the most effective way for citizens to make their views and feelings known to their representatives. There have been several cases in which a few letters, e mails, and phone calls have influenced the way a legislator may vote on a particular issue. Obviously bingo players and other gamers are not criminals, capable of making their own decisions, and should start to stand up for their rights. Believe it or not, contacting your respective representatives can actually have an effect. A civil, well reasoned letter, phone call, or e mail is one sure way for a legislator to know how their constituents feel about an issue or piece of legislation.

Two quotes, the first by Abraham Lincoln, and the second by the renowned author Ayn Rand are extremely applicable when discussing the topic of individual freedom; “Prohibition goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man’s appetite by legislation and makes crimes out of things that are not crimes. A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded.”

Abraham Lincoln

To quote Ayn Rand; “The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren’t enough criminals one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens? What’s there in that for anyone? But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced or objectively interpreted and you create a nation of law-breakers and then you cash in on guilt.”

I have a confession: Until very recently, I was all for governments regulating the online gambling industry, especially in the wake of America?s latest prohibition. But now I must admit I?m having second thoughts: better thoughts. After all, even if the United States government does ?do the right thing? ? that is ? legalize and regulate gambling over the Internet, who is to say we?re going to like the new rules? And once these guidelines are all sorted out and agreed upon by all governments concerned, (yeah, like that is going to happen soon), what then?

The $64,000 question is: Are those same personal freedoms being demanded by online gambling proponents at risk of being curtailed due to any future regulatory measures? In other words, will the eventual freedom among Americans, for example, to place bets with online casinos, poker rooms and bingo halls etc. over the Internet be replaced by laws considered even more draconian? Perhaps regulating the online gambling industry is not the ideal solution. Self-regulating, on the other hand, could very well prove more advantageous in the end for freedom-loving Web surfers everywhere, gamblers or not. You know what they say, ?Be careful what you wish for.? Keeping the government out of the Internet game may be the best medicine, especially for those sicker societies.

I recently read about 2008 US Presidential candidate Ron Paul and his position on online gaming. Interestingly enough, the good congressman is also a co-sponsor of Barney Frank?s bill calling for the American government to repeal the current awful Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) and instead legalize and regulate the gaming industry. Paul’s support for Frank?s bill would hardly be a shocker if he were a Democrat, like Frank, only Ron Paul is a Republican. You know, those guys who talk out of one side of their mouth about the need for government to stay out of peoples’ lives, while prohibiting them from spending what little is left from their salaries after paying taxes on great American pastimes like poker.

Congressman Paul put it this way: ?I believe strongly that the Internet should not be regulated by the federal government & believe even more strongly that people should be free to engage in the activities they wish, as long as they?re willing to take responsibility for their actions.? President Paul went on to add, ?The majority of people in Washington were afraid to support the Internet for fear it would label them pro-porn or pro-gambling.?

Personally, I believe it is simply a question of being pro-honest with US voters.

C?mon on America. Get with the times; not behind them!

It is late and no one else is awake. What you really want is a rousing game of poker. Happily, there are a number of chances to play poker at your online casino. Just sit down and log in to your favorite site, or possibly check out that new online casino poker gambling site that just started.

Online casino poker gambling is no longer available in the U.S. due to a ban passed by the government in 2006, called the Unlawful Internet Enforcement Gaming Act (UIGEA). A few of the casinos in other parts of the world declined to accept players from the U. S. for a bit, until they could be assured that money would still be securely obtained. That is changing now that money can securely change hands.

There are several payment options available for online gamblers; credit cards, Neteller, Firepay, Paypal and wire transfers.

Online casino poker gambling is very popular. One site, Bodog, advertises that they will soon deal their one billionth poker hand. That is very exciting. To increase the excitement, Bodog is offering more and more incentives and prizes from the 980,000,000 hand on. This illustrates how some of the older sites are so successful for so long. Some of the online casino pokers? gambling rooms have famous players? fresh from the latest televised tournament, as hosts. There are many versions of poker tournaments, with the best being offered by the more experienced older casinos.

Some of the benefits of newly opened online poker casinos are; awesome sign up deals, superior software designed for the game, and a more entertaining site. For instance, the player can select an icon that uniquely represents themselves at the playing table. The better sites will have excellent customer support and are licensed in the area where they originate. They will also ensure the players privacy and refuse to sell information to third parties.

All online casinos are aware that if they do not operate fairly, they could be blacklisted. There are several opportunities for players to provide reviews of the online casino they frequent.

Some words of caution are appropriate here. As with any game, educating yourself about the rules, strategies and how much money you are willing to lose are of paramount importance. Remember, Poker is a game of skill. The elements of chance that are sure to surprise the player are what provide the excitement of the game. There a number of books and online sites that will provide the education needed to be a successful poker player. Not only will you learn what to bid and what to fold, you can even learn how to cheat. Casinos are on the look out for cheaters and will banish them at the outset. It is poor business to tolerate cheating. By studying how to cheat, you can learn to recognize when it is happening at your table and beat a hasty retreat. It is also imperative to report cheating if you suspect that it is happening.

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Total annual wager on mobile casino services is expected to pass $5 billion by 2012, according to a new report by Juniper Research. According to author Dr Windsor Holden, “Many online casinos are now moving into the mobile environment, while bookmakers such as Ladbrokes and Coral have partnered with leading applications providers to launch own brand mobile casinos. Furthermore, the recent success of casino products from mobile-focused companies such as Probability demonstrates the latent demand for these kinds of services.”

However, the report cautions against over-optimism, observing that, recent deregulation notwithstanding, in many markets, including the US, remote casinos remain prohibited.

“While it is possible – even probable – that we will see some form of regulatory reform that will permit location-based, mobile casino services in the US by the end of the decade, casino services – mobile, online or otherwise – are illegal in a number of territories and are likely to remain so for some time,” said Holden.

“Given the stringent penalties which can be imposed on unlicensed service providers, those wishing to deploy casino-based or other gambling services must ensure strict compliance with local legislation.”

Pro-Online Gambling Group Argues Unfair Burdens of UIGEA

Proposed rules to prevent Internet gambling would place a high burden on U.S. financial institutions, according to an analysis published by a pro-online gaming group. The Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative announced an advisory report from law firm Alston & Bird on Monday that concludes new rules for Internet gambling place unfair burdens on financial institutions.

The national firm found that, under proposed rules that support the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006, U.S. residents would be able to circumvent regulations and continue gambling online by processing their transactions through foreign banks in jurisdictions where Internet gambling is legal.

“The proposed rules create an unprecedented and unwieldy regulatory burden on the U.S. financial services sector,” Jeffrey Sandman, spokesperson for the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative, said in a prepared statement. “U.S. financial service companies are being left to interpret ambiguous state and federal gambling laws, which do not clearly differentiate between legal and illegal Internet gambling activities or transactions, and then implement unreasonable and costly solutions to achieve compliance.”

The pro-gambling group supports legislation that would regulate and tax Internet gambling, specifically the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act and the Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax Enforcement Act. The companion bills would allow Internet gambling but require operators to obtain licenses, take precautions to prevent underage and compulsive gambling, and ensure safety and integrity of financial transactions.

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Opening up on two fronts, European online gaming companies have attacked both US and Danish online gambling policies in the aftermath of a poor compensation deal reached by the EU and the US in their WTO spat.

European-based online gaming companies, some with interests in online bingo games products and online bingo halls, are filing a discrimination complaint against the US over its UIGEA legislation while European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) is targeting the Danish government for its monopolistic policies.

While I applaud these moves, I can not but help feel they are indicative of a sense of desperation and betrayal by our trade representatives who should have done more to improve European online gaming interests.

That the industry itself has to take the initiative and go on the offensive is a poor indictment on the effectiveness of our European Union trade representatives. Whether such action will see the return of US players who play online bingo is very much open to question. But, as they say, ?if you want to get something done right, do it yourself.?

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