Until all of this gets sorted out, here is a list of  the top 5 online poker sites that accept US players. (In case you are interested, here is the full list of all online poker sites that accept US players.)

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BetUS Poker: 110% bonus
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Doyles Room Poker: 100% bonus

You won’t be able to find another poker room where you can participate in tournaments, ring games and heads up matches with Doyle Brunson — author of SUPER SYSTEM (the bible of poker), winner of 10 WSOP Bracelets and player in every single WSOP.

Other news articles point out that the legislation also would deny licenses to any online site that has allowed, or currently does allow, US players to gamble online. Looking ahead, this would appear to effect PokerStars, FullTilt, and other online poker rooms that have continued to serve US players despite the UIGEA of 2006.

Other key elements of the legislation include player loss limits, rigorous age verification systems and frequent testing thereof, and allowing states to opt out of this legislation and ban its citizens from online gambling.

And the legislation that was passed does not cover how the industry is to be taxed — that’s covered in a separate bill that hasn’t made it out of the House Ways and Means Committee.

It is unlikely that this legislation will be voted on before the current Congressional Session expires in September. The scheduling is simply too tight. If it is not voted on, the process will need to start again next session. Perhaps it will be attached to some other legislation, as was the UIGEA of 2006. Even so, if the legislation is approved, it still would need to be signed by Obama.

We are still years away from any comprehensive online gambling policy in the United States. Need proof? The UIGEA of 2006 took nearly 4 years before it actually went into effect this past June 1 — and there are still plenty of loopholes in that legislation that allow US players to fund and withdraw money from their online gambling accounts… or so I’ve heard.

Please donate — even if it’s just a buck!

Rep. Barney Frank is sponsoring legislation that could clear up the legal ambiguity.

A recent InformationWeek article reported that Frank wrote a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, in response to the finalization of the UIGEA regulations.

“I am deeply disappointed to hear that your agency is proceeding with what I consider to be unseemly haste in issuing regulations implementing the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. This midnight rule-making will tie the hands of the new administration; burden the financial services industry at a time of economic crisis.”

In the final analysis, I do not think that sending the letter will do any good… it’ll be up to the Obama administration to take the necessary steps to curb or stop the regulations from being enforced.

I published my analysis of the UIGEA regulations when they were published in draft form about a year ago. In the coming days, I will be reading the finalized regulations and offering my analysis here.

One initial thought is that the 12 month window that banks have to comply with the regulations is ample time for the Democratic Congress and new Obama Administration to take action to completely repeal the entire UIGEA. More on that later….

The Treasury Department has finalized regulations that would effectively ban online gambling in the U.S. and is trying to have them implemented in the waning days of the Bush administration.

The controversial rules would make it illegal for banks to process credit card transactions from most Internet gambling sites.

Their implementation has been opposed by groups advocating individuals’ right to gamble, the banking industry, Democratic lawmakers in Congress and even officials at the Federal Reserve.

The rules stem from a last-minute addition to a law passed in the final hours of the Republican controlled Congress in 2006. The provisions related to online gambling were included in an unrelated port security bill.

The wire goes on to say that it is “…standard practice for outgoing administrations to finalize controversial regulations before leaving office, a practice known as a midnight drop.”

Really? The global financial markets are in crisis and the U.S. government — our government — wants to add more work for our banks? I don’t think that this is where our priorities should be at the moment!

Have your voice heard by providing feedback to the Federal Reserve Board via their Contact Us page. Select the second radio button, select Consumer complaints from the drop down list, and enter your views in the text box. Here is a template that you can use to get you started.

I am writing to express my concerns regarding the Treasury Department’s finalization of regulations to enforce the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006. I understand that the regulations were finalized and forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget on Oct. 21, 2008, and am opposed to their being put into practice.

There are two reasons why I am opposed to the implementation of these regulations:

1. The global financial markets are in turmoil. The world is looking to the United States banking system to provide the stability necessary to get financial markets back on track in as short a time as possible. If the proposed regulations were put into practice, this would result in lost time, energy, and effort on the part of our banks in dealing with compliance with the regulations. Our banks’ priorities need to be on staying solvent and providing leadership in this time of crisis!

2. The impact on the average American citizen has not been studied. If US banks were required to comply with these regulations, there is no telling what the impact on the bank’s customers may be. The issue needs to be studied, and that study must include thought-leadership from the banks themselves, and not lawmakers.

If you want to call them, please do!

• Consumer Complaints, 888-851-1920
• Public Affairs, 202-452-2955

Read more about the KY domain name grab at CardPlayer.com.