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Ok, so now the dust has settled a little bit I thought it might be useful just to sit back and take an overview of what has happened so far and what it means....
The United States Senate on Saturday 30th September 2006 passed the 'Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act', prohibiting the acceptance of any payment instrument for the use of Internet gambling. These provisions were added to the 'Ports Bill'.
The 'Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act' targets U.S.-based banks, credit card companies and other Internet payment systems, prohibiting them from making payments to online gambling companies.
You can read the whole bill here but the Internet relevant gaming parts start at page 213.
President Bush is expected to sign the bill in the next two weeks but it wont take effect for 270 days.
US Treasury Department, Federal Reserve and Federal regulators have 270 days from the date the bill is signed into law to implement new regulations to identify and block money transactions to gambling sites. This meaning that the regulations could go into effect by the beginning of July 2007.
The focus of the bill seems to primarily be on credit card processing; the 7995 coded transactions. These have historically been harder and harder to use for online gambling transactions anyway. However, banking institutions have already made it clear online transactions are virtually impossible to stop via electronic check and bank wire. A spokesperson from the American Bankers Association said that in terms of checks, there are 40 million checks processed per year. Monitoring those transactions would be an impossible burden for the industry to bear."
Payment processors also appear to be in a crucial position, as they enable customers to transfer funds to and from online gaming sites. The fate of the industry to a large extent could now depend on whether payment processors such as Neteller or FireOne will continue to provide financial services to the online gaming operators accepting US bets. Or if new alternatives, of which there are many, come to the fore.
So what can we take from all of this?
1) The first thing to make clear is that the bill does not make online gambling illegal. Please remember this. This is the first untruth that people will have you believe.
2) The bill does not target, nor will it prosecute, individuals.
3) The bill WAS NOT aimed at regulating the industry, nor was it aimed at protecting players.
4) The bill was driven by three main factions; those who believe that gambling is immoral and should be curbed, US trade protectionists who do not wish to see American dollars flow out of the economy and US land-based gambling operators who fear online gambling as competition.
5) The bill is a restriction on the right of the individual to spend their money how they wish. Remember, it is not an illegal persuit, so why is it being restricted.
The (mainly Republican) idiots on Capitol Hill cannot see that by not regulating they have lost the opportunity to;
i) regulate and police the industry, protecting the player
ii) earn huge volumes of taxes
What they have done is to piss of a huge section of society (PLEASE REMEMBER 30th September WHEN YOU VOTE IN NOVEMBER) and driven online gambling into the underworld where exactly the type of people they should be keeping it out of the hands of dwell.
Whilst forward thinking regimes like the UK move speedily towards regulation, the USA welcomes back Prohibition...... worked well last time didn't it?????? You would think they might have learnt wouldn't you?????
To date a number of the UK Stock Exchange quoted companies have said that they will now pull out of the US market. These companies are obliged to make this move as they have to be seen by their investors to be doing 'the right thing'.
However private companies, of which the majority of the online bingo market is made up of, do not have this type of obligation hanging over them. We will have to wait and see how the majority of them react. If payment alternatives are available, and I have no doubt tha they will be (because there is now a huge demand), do not be surprised if you are still playing online bingo this time next year....... | 
