[koko]

There's been lots of buzz lately about Barney Frank planning to introduce a bill repealing the UIEGA within the next week or so. Assuming this bill is ultimately passed and signed into law (and that there is no anti-sportbetting language attached to it), what does that mean for the US player?

I assume payment processing will speed up. Maybe even soem ewallets come back to the US market and/or new ones pop up.


What about the books that left the US market? Will Pinnacle, for example, allow US players again. VIP was another large group that left the US market...will they come back?

[Igetp2s]

you will see all your winnings taxed away, that is what will happen. They wouldn't repeal it because it's the right thing to do. They would repeal it to maximize tax revenue. Defintely a bad trade off.

[WileOut]

They wont tax sports gambling because sports gambling is still considered illegal on the books end. They will probably set up and tax poker and casino online networks though. This is good to me because it will end the conspiracy theories about the online poker sites possibly cheating. If I win I pay tax anyway.

For the online sports books and players it will be good because all it will do is make it easier to deposit and withdraw. Those that pay their taxes will continue doing so and those who don't pay taxes will continue not paying them and playing roulette with the IRS.

This is assuming it is a straight repeal of the UIGEA to set up online poker. I'm not sure if its released yet. This information I wrote is just what I have heard about it.

[playz]

Frank, King introduce online gambling legislation

6 May 2009
By Vin Narayanan

Reps. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Peter King (R-N.Y.) introduced legislation Wednesday that, if passed, would create regulatory framework for online gambling in the United States.
"Internet gambling in the United States should be controlled by a strict federal licensing and regulatory framework to protect underage and otherwise vulnerable individuals, to ensure the games are fair, to address the concerns of law enforcement, and to enforce any limitations on the activity established by the states and Indian tribes," the 48-page bill reads.
The bill, which calls on the Treasury Department to regulate the industry, is careful about making sure individual states and Native American tribes have the right to impose further restrictions on Internet gambling or outright ban it.
A licensing system must "adopt and implement systems to enforce any applicable federal, state, and Indian tribe limitations," reads one part of the bill.
Another section of the bill indicates that one of the minimum requirements for a licensed operator is "ensure that no customer who is located in a state or tribal land that opts out...can initiate or otherwise make a bet or wager prohibited by such opt-out."
In order for an operator to obtain a license in the U.S., they would have to they had demonstrate they had a plan to, among other things, "protect underage and problem gamblers, ensure games are being operated fairly and comply with and address the concerns of law enforcement."
All operators would have to pass a background check. And if granted the standard five-year license, they would have to make sure all players were of legal age and allowed to wager from their location, collect customer taxes, pay any of their own taxes, safeguard against financial crime, implement safeguards for problem gamblers, implement privacy safeguards and meet any other requirements the Treasury Department might ask for.
The legislation also clearly spells out that sports betting on the Internet is illegal.
"The bill was very impressive and thorough," said Buffalo State business law professor Joe Kelly. "I certainly think it establishes what an average Congressman is looking for (in terms potential operators) -- suitability, solvency and social responsibility."
Kelly also said the bill set very high standards for people seeking gaming licenses.
"The entity seeking the license has to show clear and convincing evidence (that they're suitable). That's a higher burden of proof than in many civil cases. It's also what New Jersey uses (to regulate their gaming industry), " he said.
Leaders within the online gambling industry joined Kelly in their praise of the bill.
"Online poker is a legal, thriving industry and poker players deserve the consumer protections and the freedom to play that are provided for in this legislation," said Poker Players Alliance Chairman and former Senator Alfonse D'Amato said. "We are grateful for Chairman Frank's leadership and will be activating our grassroots army made up of over one million members to help him drive legislation."
"As Americans continue to wager online more than $100 billion annually in a thriving underground marketplace, it is time for Congress to acknowledge that prohibition has been a failure and a new approach is needed," added Jeffrey Sandman, spokesperson for the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative.
"Banning Internet gambling has the same effect as the ban on alcohol had during Prohibition; it merely drives the activity underground, forgoes massive tax revenues and makes criminals out of otherwise law-abiding citizens," said Youbet.com CEO Michael Brodsky.
Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) introduced a companion bill to the King and Frank legislation Wednesday that calls for any operator licensed under the Frank bill to pay a 2% fee to the government on all deposits.
"We are losing billions of dollars in federal and state taxes every year because a prior Administration and its supporters drove legitimate U.S. online gambling off-shore by passing an ill-conceived late-night amendment in Congress that has done nothing except make Americans more vulnerable to scams when they wager online and cost us billions in lost revenue," Rep. McDermott said.






The bolded print is troublesome. Even if everything is regulated.. whats to say that these offshore operations can't operate? And how can they be obligated to send our information if its not their laws.

[Enforcer_23]

probably will get stuck and never move yet again

[Andy77]

If they not re appeal it, then it will be a problem because a lot of bad people working now on blocking sportsbooks IP. More and more news about this and those news coming from different states.
I really wish re appeal will work. I am paying taxes from my winnings anyway.
Also think about this, the more people will play at sportsbooks the less sportsbooks will harras winning players.

[MadTiger]

I will have a Pinny account again. And anyone else in the US who has a clue.

[betbetter]

good luck with that.
UIGEA had nothing to do with Pinnacle leaving the US.

The NFL,NCAA,NBA,MLB,NHL may just have a tad to say about sportsbetting ever being added to any legislation anytime.

Won't happen.

[WileOut]

betbetter if these bills pass it will help online sports gambling. The banks will turn down (or even turn off) the heat on the payment systems for all online gambling.

Not that I ever even felt any heat, but then again the deadline for the banks to get equipped for the UIGEA is still half a year away so it could be coming. These bills would stop the "heat".

[betbetter]

The US banks would not accept online gambling transactions long before the UIGEA.
Neteller leaving (which had nothing to do with the UIGEA) was far and away the most severe blow to the industry, until a reliable e-wallet returns nothing will change.
Poker will in some form be regulated, not anytime soon though.
Sportsbetting, not a chance, not the way you see it offshore. The lobby against is too well entrenched and massively funded.
You will not be able to hide a book behind a pokersite if it ever comes to that.
I imagine if EVER some bill passes for poker/casino, any foreign co. with any link to any sportsbook will be disallowed, you will see however Mirage, Harrah's etc with rip-off casino and poker big-time.
If some form of legislation does pass, the DOJ will be zealously involved in policing it, that is a lock.

[WileOut]

I know sportsbetting will not be regulated. Read my post in this very thread above. Post number 3. I said that sports betting wont be regulated because it is specifically illegal.

betbetter I still get paid in 2 days tops. UIGEA did not stop anything. It just slowed it down a little bit. Neteller leaving was bad but the industry is rebounding quite well I think.

No offshore sportsbook is going to need to hide behind a poker site. They are all flourishing and will do even better if these bills pass.

The DOJ is policing it already. They cant stop anything. They just try to slow things down. But it will never stop.

Like I said in my post above, we will have regulated poker and casino, and unregulated sports gambling. Its perfect.

[playz]

If this bill is passed it won't hurt sportsbetting operations offshore. But my question is will places like party poker come back? I think they will. Thats good news. I made a killing.

[betbetter]

I know sportsbetting will not be regulated. Read my post in this very thread above. Post number 3. I said that sports betting wont be regulated because it is specifically illegal.

betbetter I still get paid in 2 days tops. UIGEA did not stop anything. It just slowed it down a little bit. Neteller leaving was bad but the industry is rebounding quite well I think.

No offshore sportsbook is going to need to hide behind a poker site. They are all flourishing and will do even better if these bills pass.

The DOJ is policing it already. They cant stop anything. They just try to slow things down. But it will never stop.

Like I said in my post above, we will have regulated poker and casino, and unregulated sports gambling. Its perfect.

UIGEA has and will mean nothing.
You used to get paid in 2 hours tops with Neteller.
The industry is treading water, losing the only reliable ewallet knocked 40% off the top. They are not flourishing, they are surviving.
Until the DOJ loses the bug up the ass about online, make no mistake there is one there, no ewallet will come back and things will remain as they are now in a stagnant mode.