The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act is set to go into effect today. After countless delays in mandatory industry compliance, the law, which was snuck into the SAFE Port Act back in 2006 will begin to wreck whatever havoc it can on the online gambling industry.

The UIGEA which does not expressly forbid online gambling prohibits deposits from U.S. financial institution to “unlawful internet gambling” sites. According to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals the UIGEA, in and of itself, does not make any new activities illegal but rather simply attempts to cut off anything not considered legal from making a profit. It is this loop hole that has lead to many states including California to explore legalizing online gambling.

The Poker Player’s Alliance (PPA) has stated in the past that most of the fallout from the UIGEA has already occurred. It is for this reason Executive Director John Pappas sat down to say, “We don’t expect [June 1st] to be a doomsday scenario for online poker. To be clear, it is not going to be unlawful for you, the poker player, to play internet poker… Nothing should stop you from getting money off of an online poker site.”

Though many players have been fearful of the prospect of the UIGEA going into effect so far very little has changed. While it is still too early to tell exactly what is going to happen, several players have come forward with stories of continued success in making deposits onto online gambling sites.

For the most part it is the financial institutions themselves who will face the brunt of the UIGEA. Players have essentially never been prosecuted for gambling online but several payment processes have already been targeted for investigation.

A number of legislators are continuing to attempt to repeal the law but for the most part players shouldn’t notice much of a difference in their actual game play. With any luck next month’s hearing on Barney Frank’s Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act will go well and players will continue to enjoy the games they love without the extra run around of finding a way to make a deposit.