Playing at Online Casinos as a U.S. Player
For about two years, online casino in US players have noticed that many casinos do not allow them to play and that several other casinos, still welcoming U.S. players, may face certain difficulties transferring funds to these casinos.
The difficulty that U.S. players encounter when trying to gamble on the internet started when the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was endorsed into law by the former President, George Bush, on October 13, 2006. The UIGEA is title VIII of the SAFE Port Act, which was regulated into law in order to strengthen the security of United States ports. The UIGEA restricts the flow of funds to online gambling sites from financial institutions. Some of the exceptions made to this law consisted of Fantasy sports, horse racing and online lotteries.
Publicly operated sites that were shown on the London Stock Exchange stopped welcoming U.S. players when the Act was passed. Many private companies had decided to continue to welcome U.S. players, some of which did, and some did not. Share prices in a several companies declined considerably when the move was made.
The UIGEA has triggered much frustration in the internet gambling community, as there are a lot of issues that are unclear and open to interpretation. This has caused some to be more than cautious, and others to care less.
Casino operators, if they are situated outside the U.S., seem to be on legal ground. It is unlawful to have a casino function from within the borders of the United States. Players do not have an issue playing at virtual casinos according to federal law, unless their state specifically forbids it. There are many states that do not permit online gambling, such as California, Nevada, Florida and Texas, among the others.
U.S. players have to be more aware than other players when looking for an online casino or poker room as there are several less reputable sites 'helping' U.S. players to make deposits to casinos. It is best to play in a well-known, recognized and reputable casino that does accept U.S. players.
When the law restricting the transfer of funds to online gambling sites came into force, deposit methods such as NeTeller (that is a leading e-wallet solution) and credit cards had become illegal. Clients found themselves faced with difficulties when making deposits.
There are many e-wallet solutions that still operate especially for United States players, permitting them to transfer the funds into an e-wallet account, and then move the funds from the e-wallet account to the respective casino. There is a consistent flow of new e-wallet providers.
The methods for depositing funds to casinos on the internet often change, and due to this the U.S. players are usually informed by e-mail of new banking options and methods as they become available.
Making payments by credit cards is definitely the easiest way to transfer funds to internet casinos. Interestingly, several casinos that allow U.S. players to register are still accepting credit cards, and have had no issue in completing such transactions. However, there is no assurance that the transaction will be carried out until it has actually gone through.
Some players are faced with the inconvenience of going into their banks and personally sending a wire transfer to the casino. There is, however, a new solution that has proven to be good. Gamblers are now able to purchase prepaid phone cards, and use them as a type of credit card, in order to quickly deposit funds.
While operators are continuously looking for ways to allow online U.S. players to keep wagering, there is hope that the laws will change in due course.
The difficulty that U.S. players encounter when trying to gamble on the internet started when the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was endorsed into law by the former President, George Bush, on October 13, 2006. The UIGEA is title VIII of the SAFE Port Act, which was regulated into law in order to strengthen the security of United States ports. The UIGEA restricts the flow of funds to online gambling sites from financial institutions. Some of the exceptions made to this law consisted of Fantasy sports, horse racing and online lotteries.
Publicly operated sites that were shown on the London Stock Exchange stopped welcoming U.S. players when the Act was passed. Many private companies had decided to continue to welcome U.S. players, some of which did, and some did not. Share prices in a several companies declined considerably when the move was made.
The UIGEA has triggered much frustration in the internet gambling community, as there are a lot of issues that are unclear and open to interpretation. This has caused some to be more than cautious, and others to care less.
Casino operators, if they are situated outside the U.S., seem to be on legal ground. It is unlawful to have a casino function from within the borders of the United States. Players do not have an issue playing at virtual casinos according to federal law, unless their state specifically forbids it. There are many states that do not permit online gambling, such as California, Nevada, Florida and Texas, among the others.
U.S. players have to be more aware than other players when looking for an online casino or poker room as there are several less reputable sites 'helping' U.S. players to make deposits to casinos. It is best to play in a well-known, recognized and reputable casino that does accept U.S. players.
When the law restricting the transfer of funds to online gambling sites came into force, deposit methods such as NeTeller (that is a leading e-wallet solution) and credit cards had become illegal. Clients found themselves faced with difficulties when making deposits.
There are many e-wallet solutions that still operate especially for United States players, permitting them to transfer the funds into an e-wallet account, and then move the funds from the e-wallet account to the respective casino. There is a consistent flow of new e-wallet providers.
The methods for depositing funds to casinos on the internet often change, and due to this the U.S. players are usually informed by e-mail of new banking options and methods as they become available.
Making payments by credit cards is definitely the easiest way to transfer funds to internet casinos. Interestingly, several casinos that allow U.S. players to register are still accepting credit cards, and have had no issue in completing such transactions. However, there is no assurance that the transaction will be carried out until it has actually gone through.
Some players are faced with the inconvenience of going into their banks and personally sending a wire transfer to the casino. There is, however, a new solution that has proven to be good. Gamblers are now able to purchase prepaid phone cards, and use them as a type of credit card, in order to quickly deposit funds.
While operators are continuously looking for ways to allow online U.S. players to keep wagering, there is hope that the laws will change in due course.