Bill to overturn UIGEA announced!

Today, Barney Frank (D-MA) revealed the details of his bill designed to regulate internet gambling, thus overturning UIGEA.  Some of the highlights:

“Internet gambling in the United States should be controlled by a strict Federal licensing and  regulatory framework to protect underage and other6 wise 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.

LICENSING QUALIFICATIONS

An effective Federal licensing system would ensure that licenses are issued only to Intenet gambling operators which meet strict criteria to protect consumers, and which—

(A) are in good financial and legal standing, and of good character, honesty, and integrity;

‘‘(B) utilize appropriate technology to determine the age and location of users;

(C) adopt and implement systems to protect minors and problem gamblers;

(D) adopt and implement systems to enforce any applicable Federal, State, and Indian tribe limitations on Internet gambling; and

(E) have in place risk-based methods to identify and combat money laundering fraud relating to Internet gambling, and to protect the privacy and security of users.”

Agreed Jurisdiction of internet gambling sites

“Certification that the applicant agrees to submit to United States jurisdiction and all applicable United States laws relating to acceptance by the applicant of bets or wagers over the Internet from persons located in the United States and all associated activities.”

LIMITATIONS ON GAMBLING IMPOSED BY STATES

(A) IN GENERAL.—No licensee may engage, under any license issued under this subchapter, in the operation of an Internet gambling facility that knowingly accepts bets or wagers initiated by persons who reside in any State which provides notice that it will limit such bets or wagers, if the Governor or other chief executive officer of such State informs the Director of such limitation, in a manner which clearly identifies the nature and extent of such limitation, before the end of the 90-day period beginning on the date of the enactment of the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act, or in accordance with paragraph (2), until such time as any notice of any amendment or repeal of such specific limitation becomes effective under paragraph (2).

Comments to follow…

Frank to Revise UIGEA

Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) is set to introduce legislation designed to allow online gambling in America today.

According to Bloomsberg, Frank’s legislation would revise the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, and “allow licensed gambling operators to accept online wagers from people in the U.S.”

Passed in 2006, UIGEA makes it potentially criminal for banks or other institutions to process financial transactions used to place “illegal bets” online.

This is sure to be great news for the American citizens who play poker on the web.

Details of Frank’s bill will be available on the Online Poker Circuit website once they become known.

Ban the illegal gambling website ban

Minnesota Representative Pat Garofalo introduced legislation on Monday that would prevent the Minnesota Department of Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division from blocking access to 200 “illegal gambling websites“.

In a press release from Garafolo’s MN House webpage, he believes “The Department of Public Safety has to have better things to do with their time than to go after a college kid in his dorm room or some guy sitting in his basement spending a couple of hours playing online poker. Demanding that a private-sector Internet service provider block access to websites is not a proper function of our state government.”

Congressman Garofalo goes on to state “I am certainly not condoning online gambling,” Garofalo said. “But I have serious concerns about government banning access to websites. This is the kind of thing they do in communist China, not the United States of America.”

The Minnesota mandate listing “200 banned online gambling sites” has been released.  Earlier in the week, Minnesota’s department of Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division sent a memo to 20 internet service providers demanding they block access to 200 websites they deemed as “illegal gambling websites.”

The list of banned gambling sites, interestingly enough, includes many sites such 32 Red Casino, Hollywood Poker, William Hill Casino, Mansion Poker, Noble Poker, and PartyCasino who have previously shut their virtual doors to online gamblers and poker players residing in the USA.

Also appearing on the list of 200 banned gambling websites were:

• PlayersOnly
• Full Tilt Poker
• Titan Poker
• Virgin Games

The complete list of banned online gambling websites cam be found via the Online Poker Circuit.  Ironically, online poker rooms such as PokerStars, many online poker rooms belonging to the Cake Poker Network of online poker rooms, as well as members of the Merge Gaming Network such as Carbon Poker were absent from the list.  It should be noted that these online poker rooms are open to us citizens, and yet failed to appear on the “Minnesota ban list.”

Click to view the Minnesota online gambling banned gambling websites list via the Online Poker Circuit (obtained from IMEGA).

Minnesota Director of the Poker Player’s Alliance Matt Werden issued a response to Minnesota’s memo banning online gambling calling Minnesota’s recent stance on online gambling a “clear misinterpretation of federal and state law” used to “try censor the internet.”

Mr. Werden goes on to say the Poker Player’s Alliance will take any action necessary to protect the game of poker – in all forms in the State of Minnesota.

The full statement from the Poker Player’s Alliance, as well as the memo from Minnesota banning online gambling may be found in the Minnesota Poker Resources section of the Online Poker Circuit.

The Online Poker Circuit Poker Pub and the State of Poker News will keep you updated on the Minnesota online gambling ban attempts.