Massachusetts casinos trying to discourage online gamblers

Written by Greg | Friday, 15 February 2008

Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick has proposed two-year jail terms and a $25,000 fine for citizens caught gambling online. Congressman Barney Frank, who wants federal legislation to regulate online gambling, asks, "Why is gambling in a casino OK and gambling on the Internet is not?" There has never been an official statement on the legality of operating an online poker room within the United States if that program does not accept US citizens to deposit.

The lack of regulations and an open interpretation of the laws have led many companies to pull out of the US all together. The larger, publically traded European gaming companies were amongst the first to leave the US market. Other operations have stayed but face the barriers placed on them by the UIGEA. Banking options for US citizens looking to make a deposit online are greatly reduced and often involve a third party operation like eChecks or Ecocard.com