Online Gambling

On Thursday, April 26, Rep. Barney Frank introduced HR 2046, the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act of 2007. HR 2046 will lift the prohibition on playing poker online.

Representative Frank is the Chairman of the important House Financial Services Committee. And he understands the injustice that we have suffered. When he introduced the bill, he told reporters that “The existing legislation is an inappropriate interference on the personal freedom of Americans and this interference should be undone”.

Voice your support using this quick and easy form to email your representative… it took me about 2 minutes to complete!

Then, stick it to the man and play online poker at any one of the many sites that continue to accept US players! [Note: After clicking the link, you'll get the most accurate list if you select your state using the control on the left center of the screen.]

Shelly Berkely (D) from Nevada on Friday introduced in the U.S. Congress the Internet Gambling Study Act. This bill is intended to:

provide for a study by the National Academy of Sciences to identify the proper response of the United States to the growth of Internet gambling

Horray!

If passed, the study would last a year and may provide a blueprint for how Internet gambling could be regulated in the United States. It is possible — in my opinion — that the passage of this bill would at least delay the enforcement of the UIGEA while the study is conducted.

The bill has been referred to the House Ways and Means Committee.

The Online Casino Gambling Directory has made it easier than ever to find exactly the type of online gambling site that you are looking for.

Just follow these three easy steps:

1. Enter a search term like blackjack, backgammon, free, bingo, or tournament — whatever you’re looking for.
2. Use the Narrow your search options to narrow your search by one or more of:
   • Site type
   • US policy
   • FREE chips
   • First deposit bonus
   • Minimum deposit to get bonus
   • Certifications
   • Site software

The search engine immediately returns your narrowed search results as soon as you click a radio button or checkbox — no need to waste an extra click on clicking a Search or Go button.

3. Click on the name of the site that you like best in the search results list.

It’s just that easy!

Check out this introduction to The Online Casino Gambling Directory. It covers all the key features of the site in about six minutes.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0S5lUgLPo3k

22 Dec 06 update: Here are the updated videos:

• How to search and filter (2 minute video): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQUdYzEz2ig
• Using the ‘Hot searches’ feature (2 minute video): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hRaeRDchHE

Nearly two weeks have passed since the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA) was signed, and here’s where the sites that are listed at The Online Casino Gambling Directory stand with respect to US-based real-money players:

• 76% of all sites have published or otherwise verified their policy
• Of those sites that have published or otherwise verified their policy, 32% have exited the US market
• Of the remaining 68% that remain in the US market, a full 52% continue to accept US-based real-money players from all states, while the remaining 16% accept US-based real-money players that do not reside in states that have specific online gaming bans on the law books (IL, IN, LA, MI, NJ, NV, NY, OR, SD, WA, WI).

While the UIGEA has certainly limited the number of online gaming options available to US citizens, it has not even come close to eliminating all options. As of this writing, US-based real-money players from all states can still choose from:

• 5 Skill game sites
• 21 Sportsbooks
• 27 Poker rooms
• 63 Bingo halls
• 103 Casinos

Yesterday, Firepay announced that they will decline purchases at gaming sites from US players starting with the day that Bush signs the “Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006″. Furthermore, ten days following the signing of the Act, they wll decline any transfer from gaming sites to US-based Firepay accounts.

My advice is to withdraw all funds from all gaming sites for which you used Firepay to make your most recent deposit — since gaming sites generally refund back to the deposit source before any other source (such as Neteller). Once all of the withdrawals appear in your Firepay account, withdraw the funds from the Firepay account to your banking account; you should try to make only a single withdrawal since Firepay charges a $10 fee for withdrawals.