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In September of 2006, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was passed. Poker players strongly opposed it because the law made it illegal for banks, credit card companies, and other payment processing companies to allow transactions to illegal online gambling sites. The law didn’t specify that online poker was illegal, but instead left it as a grey area and backed it up with threats that were sufficiently severe so that these financial institutions have done whatever is necessary to avoid possible violations.

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While it is unlikely that any action will be taken this year to enforce the UIGEA through regulation, congressional representatives continue to endorse HR 5767, a bill that orders the Federal Reserve and the Dept. of the Treasury to cease trying to implement any rules that would govern the online gambling ban law.
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After the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was pushed through Congress in 2006, the industry has been turned upside down. One area that the U.S. has found itself in hot water is the international arena. The country has already given concessions to Antigua and the European Union over money lost from outlawing foreign internet gambling operators within its borders. In the background, horse racing, fantasy sports, and state lotteries rein supreme online, remaining legal, while internet gambling suffers. In February, Ed Brayton, a freelance writer, requested the details of settlements that the U.S. had entered into. His request was denied, prompting Brayton file suit against the U.S. Trade Representative last week.
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Antigua’s Minister of Finance and the Economy Dr. Errol Cort is scheduled to hold a high level meeting with the US Trade Representative (USTR) Ambassador Susan Schwab and other officials in the USTR’s office in Washington today with the intention to finally resolve the World Trade Organization (WTO) Internet gambling dispute between the two countries over market access for online poker and Internet gambling operators registered in Antigua and Barbuda.
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Poker News – Group sues U.S. government for settlement info – PokerListings.com

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An organization called Public Citizen filed a lawsuit on Monday to get the United States to release details of the concessions it made to other nations to settle its online gambling dispute being handled by the World Trade Organization.
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SunHerald.com : States Move to Collect New Revenue From Sports Gambling for Critical Government Programs

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WASHINGTON, May 22 –
The Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative (SSIGI) announced its support for attempts to legalize sports betting in Delaware and New Jersey. Legislators’ in both states are seeking to collect revenue from sports gambling, which is currently being lost in an underground, uncontrolled marketplace. Bookies fail to pay about $7 billion a year in federal wagering excise taxes, according to an Internal Revenue Service estimate based on a National Gambling Impact Study Commission.

“While some form of gambling is allowable in almost every state, it is totally hypocritical that there would be a line drawn in the sand for sports gambling, an activity that continues and is estimated to illegally generate up to $380 billion per year in the U.S.,” said Jeffrey Sandman, spokesperson for the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative. “A prohibition on sports gambling means that billions of dollars in much-needed tax revenue that could be used for education and other government programs is being lost to bookies and off-shore Internet gambling operators.”

The strangely selective and self-defeating crackdown on Internet gambling.

On July 16, 2006, the CEO of BetOnSports.com attacked an anti–online gambling bill that the House of Representatives had overwhelmingly approved a few days before. “We want to be regulated,” David Carruthers wrote in the Baltimore Sun. “We want to be taxed. We want to be licensed. Instead of dealing with us constructively to address issues of mutual concern, these legislators prefer to pretend that they can control the Internet. Instead of protecting the public, they would rather waste time on public posturing to their partisan base.”
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Should Online Poker Be Legalized?
As federal and state funds dwindle, lawmakers are eyeing a potentially lucrative source of income: Internet poker. According to a 2006 U.S. law, it’s illegal to pay for most online wagers with a credit card—which basically prohibits Americans from betting money on online poker or other such games. (Some people get around this by using foreign credit cards and bank accounts.) A bill sponsored by Rep. Robert Wexler (D., Fla.) seeks to exempt online poker and other  games of skill from the law. If the legislation passes, it could lead to more than $3 billion a year in taxes.
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The odds might not be in his favor, but U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., has gained a valuable ally in his fight to overturn a 2006 law banning online gambling. Poker Players Alliance, a grass-roots organization fighting for poker players’ rights, has put its chips on Rep. Frank’s proposal.
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Some horseracing fans looking to place online bets for the 134th Kentucky Derby this weekend may find their transactions blocked by banks and credit card companies trying to avoid running afoul of unclear federal regulations, gaming and banking industry experts said Thursday.
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