Internet gambling set to defy new laws
The new internet gambling ban is unlikely to stop US gamblers from doing what they love best, according to a new report.
The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was signed earlier this month, prompting fears that the days of online gambling in the US were over.
But the upshot is expected to be little more than the fact that those wanting to bet will simply have to search slightly harder for a site that manages to circumvent the laws.
There remain numerous questions over whether the US Treasury and Federal Reserve will actually be able to enforce the legislation effectively, according to the Associated Press.
“It has put a terrible scare into people,” said Whittier Law School’s gambling law professor Nelson Rose. “But it won’t by any means wipe out internet gambling,” he added, speaking to Associated Press
Rose suggests that the new law banning banks from providing electronic fund transfers to gaming sites is not the end of the road. Instead it will mean that money will now be transferred by payment processors known as e-wallets, before transferring money to the sites themselves.
Such opinions seem to be the consensus around the industry, with MGM Mirage spokesman Alan Feldman saying earlier this month that “Trying to stop internet gambling is akin to trying to hold a wave on the sand and stop the ocean from sending any more”.