With less than a week before the US financial services market must fully comply with the regulations contained in the UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act), there is suddenly a glimmer of hope for the online poker industry in the United States.
According to the official website of the House Financial Services Committee, a full committee hearing on two bills made to regulate and tax online gaming in the United States and delay the full enforcement of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act will be held on December 3rd, 2009.
House Financial Services Committee chairman Barney Frank, a longtime supporter of legalized online poker, unveiled both proposal last May 2009.
H.R. 2266 is designed to delay the full implementation of the UIGEA until December 2010 while HR 2267 seeks to render UIGEA moot by creating a federal regulatory and enforcement framework to license online gambling operators including online poker sites in the US.
The hearing will be at 10:00 a.m. ET on December 3rd, 2009 in the Committee's Rayburn House Office Building and interested members of the public can observe via a live webcast through the website of the Committee.
In the meantime, regulations under the UIGEA will come into effect on December 1st, 2009, forcing financial organizations in the United States to stop processing any financial transactions related to online gaming.
02/24/2010 12:11 PM