U.S. Treasury Dept. to Finalize UIGEA Regs in November?

In an article appearing on the FreedomWorks website yesterday, former U.S. Congressman Dick Armey noted that the Treasury Department apparently plans to finalize those regulations for the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 sometime in November. Armey, a Republican from Texas, served in the House of Representatives from 1995-2003 (during which time he was the House Majority Leader). He now leads FreedomWorks, an organization with a particular interest in promoting economic freedom for all Americans.

According to Armey, “the Treasury Department is drafting a final rule it hopes to release in November to put the program in motion.” In other words, it sounds as though Armey has some sort of inside scoop regarding the feds’ timetable for finalizing those regulations for the UIGEffinA.

In his article, Armey notes the many problems surrounding the implementation of the UIGEA, and argues that the Treasury Department should think twice about moving forward with the regulations. He makes reference to the several proposed bills which have appeared over the last eighteen months designed to counter the UIGEA, including Barney Frank’s Payment System Protection Act (H.R. 6870). Says Armey, such bills show that “Congress has acknowledged the potential downside of its foray onto the Internet with the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, and is working to correct its overreach.”

He concludes that “the Treasury Department should follow this lead, and not rush forward with sweeping government mandates that threaten the future growth and innovation on the Internet.”

Seems unfathomable, really, that in the midst of this economic crisis -- one that has proven especially punishing for the American banking system (who would be particularly burdened here) -- the feds would be so very interested in finalizing the UIGEA’s regs at this particular moment.

But lame ducks sometimes do strange things. (Hell, the UIGEA itself was in effect foisted upon us by a band of legislators on their way out.)

Don’t wanna worry folks unnecessarily, but if those UIGEA regs do get finalized before any other counter-legislation has a chance to work its way through the legislative labyrinth, we online poker players (in the U.S., anyhow) are gonna be forced to endure some serious hassles in the interim.