GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 36 - October 2016

10 YEARS OF UIGEA UIGEA Timeline 30 September 2006 13 October 2006 November 2015 February 2014 February 2013 June 2012 September 2011 June 2011 15 April 2011 December 2010 November 2010 July 2010 January 2009 June 2009 December 2009 November 2008 April 2008 April 2007 UIGEA passes Congress; several online poker sites exit the market, including Party Poker, 888 Poker. As a result, PokerStars flies to the top of the rankings. Department of the Treasury and Federal Reserve Board release a joint final rule to implement UIGEA; compliance with the rule is “required by Dec. 1, 2009.” Sen. Harry Reid pushes for online poker regulation; bill does not advance. Delaware legalizes online poker. House Financial Services committee passes HR 2267; the bill would legalize and regulate online poker and other forms of online gambling. Nevada passes bill aimed at bringing regulated poker to the state. Six months pass before regulations are issued by Nevada regulators. U.S. Department of Justice seizes over $34 million spread out over 27,000 accounts in the Southern District of New York Action Against Online Poker Players***. This is the first time money is seized from individual players as opposed to a gaming corporation. *** Legal action taken by department to crack down on online poker Full Tilt Poker forfeits assets to PokerStars. PokerStars to forfeit $547 million to the U.S. government over a period of three years. Part of that sum will be used to repay American players. First reimbursement to players whose accounts were frozen took the form of The Garden City Group paying out over $76 million to 27,500 players. Signed into law by President George W. Bush*. * Before this, U.S. players accounted for more than half the world’s online poker traffic. Barney Frank and Ron Paul move to dampen the effect of UIGEA with the introduction of HR 5767, which would have limited the ability of the authorities to ban online gambling. UIGEA implementations are made; compliance is required by December of that year. NJ state Senate passes bill expressly legalizing certain forms of online gambling. Full Tilt’s license revoked. Nevada legalizes intrastate online poker. House Financial Services Committee holds hearing on UIGEA and Rep. Frank’s bill (above, April 2007); experts in field of online security advise that a regulatory framework for Internet gambling would be beneficial for consumers. Black Friday. PokerStars is forced out of market; first time UIGEA is used in criminal prosecution. Full Tilt Poker, Absolute Poker also indicted****. **** Players are still waiting to be paid by Absolute Poker, Ultimate Bet DraftKings and FanDuel banned from operation in NY; NY Supreme Court Justice Manuel Mendez states “The UIGEA language exempting fantasy sports has no corresponding authority under New York State law . . . . The exception found in UIGEA does not apply under the current New York statutory language.” Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) introduces HR 2046 to modify UIGEA** to provide for licensing of online gambling sites by the Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. It does not pass. ** Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act 34 W W W . G P W A T I M E S . O R G