Online Gambling Games has been around for centuries, for people enjoy the excitement and the potential of winning big. Unlike gambling in general, which has a long and extensive history, internet (online) gambling is a more recent phenomenon–“the new kid on the block“. Appearing first in the 1990s, internet gambling has surged in popularity.
Prior to internet gambling, the US government had some legislation in place to regulate gambling activities, but not internet gambling. In the fall of 2006, this changed. President Bush signed a bill into law, known as the “Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act” (UIGEF). This bill was attached to an unrelated ports security bill called the “Safe Port Act”. Even though the UIGEF is vague as a whole, the bill clearly bans American banks and credit card companies from completing financial transactions between US players and internet gambling companies. The news reports described the bill as outlawing internet gambling.
In response to the passing of the UIGEF, hundreds of internet gambling sites announced that they would stop accepting bets from US based players. Big publicly traded sites, such as Partygaming.com and 888.com, led the exodus out of the US markets.
Currently, there are congressional efforts to amend the UIGEF in an effort to be more favorable towards internet gambling. There is a good reason for this. Internet gambling is one of the few industries to boom during the current financial crisis. US leads the world in the number of online players, representing more than half the overall world market.