Endgame: UIGEA Regs Finalized (Postscript)

Sorry about that atomic cloud pic in the earlier post. Was intended (partly) as another joking reference to the usual apocalyptic feel we online poker players are made to experience -- about every few weeks, it seems -- regarding the future of our game. (Didn’t necessarily intend to help fuel any hysteria.)

Indeed, the primary intention of that post was to share that overview of the events that led up to the finalizing of the regs, not necessarily speculate too much on what will happen next. In any event, while the finalization and publication of the regulations for the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 most certainly ain’t good news, it doesn’t appear to have signaled the end of online poker as we know it.

So we’re safe. Until next week, anyway, when the next crisis pops up.

According to some -- such as I. Nelson Rose, expert on gambling law and frequent commentator on the UIGEA -- the finalizing of the regs doesn’t really add up to all that much in the way of affecting what U.S. online poker players are doing presently. Says Rose, “Only a very few online poker players will be affected. Anyone who uses paper checks, wire transfers, foreign bank credit cards, or overseas payment processors to load, reload or cash out can continue to do so. The only players who might face some difficulties are those using U.S. bank debit cards or U.S. money transfer firms like Western Union.”

You can read the rest of Rose’s analysis of the present situation here.

I am personally very glad to learn that withdrawals don’t seem to be covered by the finalized regs, though anything making it (even more) difficult for folks to deposit is going to have a negative effect. Even so, I continue to harbor vague worries as I imagine the day when my bank suddenly tells me I cannot cash a check received from an online site. I know, I know -- I shouldn’t worry. But still, you know how it is. Sometimes we miss our 43-outers. (Just ask Scott Montgomery.) So we worry....

Looking for more specifics regarding those finalized regulations? Head over to PokerNews for a good overview of the UIGEA regs by Haley Hintze.