When the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was passed during the fall of 2006, it incited a wealth of controversy. After all, the bill was attached to the SAFE Port Act and muscled through Congress during the final hours of the 2006 Congressional session. Ever since then, the law has been attacked from multiple angles. The UIGEA has been criticized from both the legislative and legal fronts, with groups like the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) and Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA) trying repeatedly to overturn the tenuously enforced law. Recently, two of America’s top Congressmen have weighed in on the dispute between the United States and European Union over internet gambling.
In an article published by Reuters, Congressmen Robert Wexler (D-FL) and Steve Cohen (D-TN) pleaded with the Justice Department of the United States to halt any criminal prosecution or investigation into internet gambling firms based in the European Union. Many online poker rooms, specifically, make their home in the Isle of Man and several – including Party Gaming – are actually traded on the London Stock Exchange. Because these firms are publicly traded, they have pulled out of the U.S. market in deference to their shareholders’ interests.
Wexler told Reuters, “In all likelihood, this issue will escalate and I understand could result in WTO action focused specifically on how the U.S. government enforces its laws. I cannot see how that can be in the interests of this country.” Reuters added that the Justice Department’s actions into the “issue could lead to a potentially damaging trade spat between the United States and the European Union at the World Trade Organization.”
Both Wexler and Cohen sent letters to the Justice Department voicing their concerns. Cohen was concerned that the “Justice Department still had not given a good reason why it was investigating foreign operators who respected congressional intent in 2006 and withdrew from the market, while U.S. companies continue to operate uninterrupted.”
Wexler is the author of the Skill Game Protection Act, HR 2610. The bill was introduced on June 7, 2007. It calls for the exemption of poker, mah jong, chess, bridge, and other games defined as “skill games” from two overarching pieces of internet gambling legislation: the Wire Act of 1961 and the UIGEA. The Wire Act forbids the transmission of sports wagering over the internet. The UIGEA disallows the transfer of funds by banks and other financial institutions from players to online gambling outlets.
Wexler’s legislation has been widely supported across the industry by groups like the PPA, which has been searching for a carve-out for online poker ever since 2006. Wexler’s legislation currently has 22 co-sponsors, including Pete Sessions (R-TX), Shelley Berkley, (D-NV), and Cohen. It was referred to the House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.
Other pressure on the United States government to undo the UIGEA has come from iMEGA, which is suing to declare the confusing law unconstitutional. The organization charges that the UIGEA violates First Amendment rights. It will file its formal appeal in the Third Circuit Court (which covers parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York, later this month.
