The law has wiped out billions of dollars in shareholder value of British companies, leaving the industry's future in doubt as U.S. lawmakers initially trumpeted they had found a way to close down bets coming from the America. However, serious questions remain about whether the legislation can be effective in stopping U.S. residents from playing poker or betting on sports.
The "Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act" goes after the money, not the millions of players, which would be nearly impossible to enforce. Industry experts say there are an estimated 2,000 Internet sites that take bets for sports and poker. American players have fueled Internet gambling, supplying $6 billion of the $12 billion in revenues generated annually.
The regulations are clearly going to prevent banks from doing electronic fund transfers to gambling sites, but that is no big deal. In some cases, banks simply move the money to payment processors, known as e-wallets. Non-U.S. payment processors such as the widely used Neteller then transfer the money to the Internet gambling sites.
The law creates new criminal penalties and since there is no indication the Justice Department is about to start a huge campaign to enforce the law, privately owned operators will continue to take play as long as they have payment processors that will work with them.
