UIGEA DEADLINE LOOMS
27 April 2007
Treasury and AG's office have to come up with
banking regulations soon
Card Player magazine issued a timely reminder this week
that the regulations backing the US Unlawful Internet
Gambling Enforcement Act fall due in two month's time.
The UIGEA was rammed through Congress in the last
quarter of 2006 in some late night pre-recess
manouevring which saw Senator Bill Frist attach the Bill
to a must-pass Safe Ports Act. President Bush
subsequently signed the Bill into law, precipitating
large scale international disruption and corporate
losses.
Under the Act, the US Treasury and the US Attorney
General's offices are tasked with framing, within 270
days, a set of regulations for US banks to apply in
order to further the objective of the Act - to prevent
or disrupt online financial transactions to online
gambling companies.
Barry Shulman of Card Player Magazine succinctly
described some of the problems that the US financial
system might encounter in trying to do this: "Basically,
the Department of Justice was given 270 days to come up
with a set of rules for banks to use as guidelines. That
270-day period ends on July 9.
"The making of those rules and guidelines falls under
the purview of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales'
responsibility. However, Gonzales has been under fire
for many months now. On Thursday, April 19, senators of
both parties challenged Gonzales' candor about the
dismissal of eight U.S. attorneys and questioned his
fitness to remain in office [ed: see previous InfoPowa
report].
"During the inquiry, Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ), one of the
original co-sponsors of the UIGEA, closely questioned
Gonzales on how the Justice Department plans to
implement the regulations needed to carry out the UIGEA."
"Expert impressions of Gonzalez's reaction to Mr. Kyl
was one of indifference. On one hand you had an Attorney
General who wanted to appease the Arizona Senator. On
the other hand, you had an Attorney General who didn't
seem to place Internet gambling as a top priority. And
why should he? Gonzalez is fighting for his life. And
quite frankly, Kyl's law serves as a perfect example of
what is wrong with the current adminstration."
To recap from previous InfoPowa reports on the firing of
8 US attorneys and the subsequent appearance before a
Senate enquiry of the AG, the respected gaming lawyer
Lawrence Walters of GamblingAttorneys.com summarised the
interrogation of Gonzalez by Kyl thus:
"It appears as though Sen. Kyl is meeting some
resistance from the Attorney General’s Office in
developing the kind of regulations he envisions as most
effective in implementing the UIGEA. The Attorney
General obviously has a lot on his mind these days, and
online gambling may not be the most important issue on
his plate.
"However, Gonzales has significant motivation to keep
the Senators happy – particularly those on the Oversight
Committee. But the practical reality involved in
identifying and blocking specific accounts known to be
used for online gambling transactions is rearing its
ugly head, forcing the Attorney General to wrestle with
the real world implications of this effort."
Online Casino News courtesy of InfoPowa
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