According to Barney Frank there will be no more delays from the Treasury Department on the enforcement of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA).

 

Starting June 1st the anti-poker legislation will take effect essentially banning Americans from internet gambling. 

Despite the horrific news Frank told reporters for PokerNews that he isn’t concerned about the developments. He believes that in the long run this could actually be good for the poker industry because he has little doubt that people will push hard to eradicate the flawed legislation. 

"It's fine with me," Frank said. "I think it's frankly so dumb and oppressive that it will create support to repeal the bill. I think, once it goes into effect, banks are going to raise hell and all the bankers will go to the Senate to complain."

 

The UIGEA was piggy backed on to the SAFE Port Act at the last minute back in 2006. It prohibits the transfer of funds from a financial institution to all illegal Internet gambling sites excluding fantasy sports, online lotteries, and horse/harness racing. What exactly constitutes an illegal internet gambling site is in many ways up to debate but since its passage the majority of online gambling sites have stopped taking United States players. The weight of the laws enforcement will rest on the banks and financial institutions themselves who would suffer severe reprimand for allowing transactions to go through unnoticed. A point that Frank says will be the bills ultimate undoing.

 

The enforcement of the law has been delayed a number of times over the years but if what Frank is saying is true then things will be getting cracked down on soon enough. The UIGEA was scheduled to go into effect in December of last year but the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) petitioned for a delay and found support from Congress. Frank is currently working to pass a piece of legislation that would override the UIGEA called the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act but there has been numerous delays. He says that the committee will take a look at the bill "sometime this spring, probably in May."

PPA leaders were hoping that the progress of the new bill would convince Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to allow another delay but it appears that Senator Jon Kyl a long-time opponent of internet poker has strong armed Geithner into allowing the bills passage. "Geithner promised he won't delay the bill again because Kyl was holding up all the nominees," Frank said referring to President Obama's Treasury nominees. 

"The Treasury, Federal Reserve, Congress and the banking community agree that the proposed UIGEA regulations are overly broad and lack the key definition of 'unlawful Internet gambling,'" said PPA executive director John Pappas. "This was the case when the regulations were delayed in November and it remains the case today. Enacting the final rule on June 1st without this clarification would be a huge mistake and will add another layer of confusion upon an already complex matter."

"Ultimately, there needs to be legislation like HR 2267 or S 1597 that will remove the confusion and establish a clear and sensible regulatory policy that the government, banks and, most importantly, consumers can rely on. The PPA remains optimistic that this will happen sooner rather than later, and that the misguided enactment of the UIGEA will be a catalyst for this change."

Here’s hoping they’re right.