Tag Archives: act

Is Gambling Moral or Immortal? (Page 1 of 2)

May 15, 2020   Game guide   No comments

The US Congress passed The Safe Port Act that also included the “Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006” (UIGEA) that aims to make it illegal for US banks to process transactions related to online gaming. The bill was signed into law by President Bush on October 13 and several big name UK companies instantly lost the majority of their income.

The bill was clearly politically motivated by Republicans who are worried about losing control in the House after the November election. House Republican leaders announced that this bill would be part of a 10-part “American Values Agenda,” which consists of 10 unrelated pieces of legislation, including a constitutional amendment prohibiting same-sex marriage, tax cuts, a flag burning law, and extensive restrictions on stem cell research. Furthermore, this is a way our legislators can separate themselves from the now-disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who lobbied against previous versions of this bill using bribes, fraud, and hundreds of thousands of dollars to assist in the bill’s defeat.

The democratic take over of the House and Senate may be the best thing that could have happened to the internet gambling community since the UIGEA passed. Especially considering the particular Democrats who took seats from Republicans.

Massachusetts Democrat Barney Frank, who is expected to chair the Financial Services Committee, has a libertarian approach to gambling and does not believe that the U.S. should be telling people how to spend their money.

Most Americans do not know that debate was not allowed on this bill. Amendments were not allowed, the Act/deal was made behind closed doors and only a very select few people were in on it. Well, as millions of Americans head to their computers for a little safe and legal online gaming some weekend expect them to discover what has gone on behind their backs.

Probably, the first time they ever tried to play online they were shocked to find that their credit cards disallowed the transaction. This shock would inevitably have been followed by a call to their bank to ask why they were not allowed to use their own money where they wanted. The response they would typically get would simply be, we do not allow transactions of this type. More shock and awe. That a bank that they trust to keep their personal and hard earned money safe, will not allow them to spend it the way they want.

We can read such messages on index pages of gambling sites: “Dear Valued Player, As a result of the recent internet gaming bill in the USA, the Casino Golden Palace Online partner sites will no longer allow gaming by USA residents.” ( Casino Golden Palace

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Online Casino History – A Brief History of Success

October 2, 2019   Game skill   No comments

A Brief Account of Initial Days of Online Gambling
Online casino history started in the decade of 1990. In the year 1995, the first ever online casino hit the market and marveled everyone. The name of this internet based casino was Internet Casinos Inc. (in short, ICI). The first ever virtual casino was launched on 18th August 1995. During the initial phase this company started to operate from the islands of Caicos and Turks. Internet Casinos Inc. started its operation outside America because they feared prosecution from the Government of United States of America.

Tell Us Something More About the History of Virtual Betting
What is the total duration of the online casino history? The answer of this question is 10 years. Casinos have always been popular among human world. However, a gambling aficionado has to travel long distances to play and enjoy the fun of gambling. Online casinos have helped these betting lovers to enjoy the games right from their home. Thus, you don’t have to move from one place to another to play the virtual casino games. Some of these characteristic features of virtual casinos make it immensely popular among gambling aficionados.

Is online casino history absolutely smooth? Wasn’t there any hiccup in the entire history of internet based gambling? Yes, there were many hindrances in the entire progress path of internet based casinos. The main hindrance that online gambling industry faces is the legal threat to it. Still now, the main hiccup to online betting of USA is UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act). According to this law, any kind of payments related to online betting is illegal. This law does not make online gambling illegal directly. Consequently, many online casinos have stopped allowing players from America. These are some of the hiccups faced by online gambling industry in the entire online casino history.

Now, Let Us Check The Evolutionary Chronology of Online Casino History

1. In the Year 1994, a new Act was passed by the Government of Antigua-Barbuda, known as ‘The Free Trade and Processing Zone Act, 1994’. Many internet based casinos as well as sports-books have license of the same and this license is considered as one of the most popular licenses among the internet based gambling industry.

2. One of the largest providers of software in online betting is Microgaming. It is a huge software development company, which has mastered the techniques of generating software for online betting sites. This company was founded in the year of 1994. In the following year, that is 1995, another software developing giant called Cryptologic was launched.

3. 1996 has special significance in online casino history. In this year, the first internet based casino site that accepts real money was launched. In the month of October of 1996, InterCasino first launched such a virtual casino that deals with real money.

4. First ever gambling related Act was introduced by a US Congress Senator named Jon Kyl. The year was 1998. The name of this Act was Internet Gambling Prohibition Act. According to this, a company will be regarded as illegal if it offers betting services to any American. This Act was not passed by the US Senate. A revised version of this Act was also placed in the US Senate in the following year, i.e. 1999, but this was also voted down by the Senate. In the same year, a renowned company called Frost and Sullivan published a research report and mentioned in it that online gambling has generated a mammoth amount of revenue of US$ 834.5 million.

5. Internet Gambling Prohibition Act was introduced by a Congress representative, Bob Goodlatte, in the US House of Representatives in the year 2000. However, this Act was also voted down and it failed to acquire the required two-third majority vote. In the year 2000, Cryptologic had published their annual report where it was mentioned that 680,000 customers had used their system of electronic payment already. 2000 was an auspicious year for Cryptologic. It got listed in NASDAQ and received the symbol, CRYP.

6. Year 2004 was specifically important for online gambling. In this year itself, WTO (World Trade Organization) ruled against US regarding legal issues and sided with the Government of Antigua-Barbuda. According to WTO, it is unethical and illegal for American government to restrict online gambling because it allows land based casinos as well as horserace-betting sites to operate in US.

In the same year, Christiansen Capital Advisors has shown figures that 51% of the total revenues from online betting across the world (approximately US$ 8.5 Million) came from United States of America itself.

Thus, we can conclude that online casino history is not bed of roses and is full of ups and downs.

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