The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was passed by both houses of Congress on September 30.  The anti-gambling legislation was tacked on to a port security bill.  The bill has not been signed into law yet by President Bush, but he is expected to sign it.  The law will mean that credit card companies can no longer make payment to foreign gambling companies. This legislation was like the legislation that was proposed earlier in that it didn’t update the 1961 wire law that prohibits using telephone lines for gambling purposes. 

Under the passed bill, the Treasury will publish have to publish new regulation for financial institutions that require them to ban the financial transactions between foreign casinos and U.S. players. The Treasury has 270 days in which to write the new regulations. The provides for penalties for violators.

Various reasons have been given for the passage of the bill.  Internet casino gambling operators receive about $6 billion in revenues from U.S. players.  Proponents of the bill claim that many of these online gambling companies are fronts for drug trafficking, illegal money laundering and some provide financing for terrorists.  They also point to the wide spread use of online bingo casino by minors and young people and claim the online gambling results in addiction problems for players.

The new legislation exempts fantasy sports betting, horseracing, state lotteries and state licensed casinos from coverage.  This means that the state-licensed casinos could offer online gambling in the future if they receive approval.