UIGEA Manages to Block Canadian Lotteries
|
|
|
|
The UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) is once again showing what a fiasco it is. As an unclear act that was pushed through hidden in the middle of other legislation, it has simply gone from bad to worse with unintended consequences becoming the rule rather than the exception.
This time, the effects of the UIGEA are being felt in Canada as lotteries have been caught up in the measures imposed on financial corporations to block payment transactions to Internet casinos. Constance Ladell, the director of legal services for the British Columbia Lottery noted that their largest challenge at present is coming from across the border in the form of the UIGEA. She continued to say "We've got caught up in that and have suffered as a result of the UIGEA as well as the risk-averse nature of the payments industry." Representatives at the International Masters of Gaming Law Spring Conference in Windsor are waiting with anticipation in the hope that Barney Frank's bill to repeal the UIGEA will solve the many problems it has created. The representatives expressed the need for regulation and law which would be specifically designed for online gambling. Constance Ladell agreed that if Frank's bill goes through that it would also benefit the lottery in Canada. She expressed her frustration that neither the Canadian nor the United States governments had yet taken the necessary steps to correctly regulate and license online gambling. At best, the UIGEA is vaguely worded, and has caused much confusion for financial institutions and online gambling operators about what is in fact legal. |
