What exactly is “illegal” when it comes to online gambling?

The House Committee on Financial Services Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade, and Technology held a hearing entitled, “Proposed UIGEA Regulations: Burden without Benefit?” focused on debating the legislation prohibiting illegal online gambling.

The Committee was divided over their views concerning online gambling laws. Many members of Congress said that prohibiting online gambling was necessary because of the effects gambling abuse has on both individual and family life. Supporters of the movement to revoke the online gambling laws argued that the restrictions are an intrusion upon American privacy rights. These members of Congress mentioned how enforcing the law has become a burden for banks being unfairly pushed to enforce gambling legislation upon people depositing checks “illegally” obtained from gaming websites.

A significant portion of the debate was devoted to clarifying how exactly to identify different types of gambling as being either legal or illegal. Being that poker in particularly is both a game of skill and chance, the lines to define such law are difficult to draw.