Online Gambling, Casinos, Poker and Sports Betting Magazine

Berkley Opposes UIGEA while Americans still play Online Poker

In what has been one of the most hotly debated new laws in recent US history, more and more senior figures are now opposing the UIGEA bill that has effectively ruled out online poker in America. The law finally came into effect on June 1st but that hasn’t stopped US players from wagering their money on many offshore poker sites. Indeed, Shelley Berkley, Nevada’s government representative, has voiced her views on UIGEA, stating: “In reality, countless Americans logged on to their computers June 1 — the day the act took effect — and placed bets over the Internet.” Her main argument is that UIGEA has done nothing to prevent online poker in America and everything to increase the risk of fraudsters, scammers and rouges infiltrating the game and doing things the bill is supposedly meant to prevent. In her opinion, regulation is the only realistic way the industry can become fully safe and free from any suspicions of money laundering or corruption.

Certainly one of the reasons that UIGEA hasn’t had quite the impact that many thought it would is because sites such as playersonly.com and cakepoker.com are still able to offer online poker players a place to play. Both sites are not only open to US players but also offer lucrative sign-up bonuses and generous loyalty schemes.

Playersonly.com is one of the fastest growing poker sites in America and accepts a range of deposit options, including: VISA, UseMyWallet, ECO, Neteller and Moneybookers. Similarly, cakepoker.com offers some of the best poker action in the industry and will accept a number of deposit options.

While online poker may have been through a rough time since the inception of UIGEA, it now seems that senior government officials across America are starting to see the futility of the law; something that could well lead to UIGEA being overturned in the next few months.