Poker has dramatically changed in the short few years since the “boom”. Most notably was the passage of the UIGEA which set off a chain of events to lead us to the current state of internet poker in the US in 2008 and years to come.
Many us poker sites continue to flourish, at least those that did not evacuate the United States online gaming market when things went sour. Instead they adapted to the changes, developed new deposit options like the instant poker echeck and have grown to become some of the biggest poker sites.
Players continue to deposit and play at both poker rooms and online casinos through various deposit methods. At Poker Stars, like was stated, the echeck and epassporte are the most popular and still allow players to get the pokerstars marketing code with the regular bonus. Some sites changed their bonus structure after the UIGEA, pokerstars did not.
Casinos are having a more difficult time with funding. The largest sites are under close eye of the US government and almost as soon as a deposit option comes out, it gets shut down. It almost seems as if the smaller casinos have an advantage because they can bring on new options like togglecard casino deposits and not have it instantly shut down.
In 2008 the US Treasury is supposed to come out with a formal set of guidelines for banks to obide by. While this is the “plan” even the Treasury along with US Department of Justice say this is a daunting task. Many underlying factors cause burdens on this new law which is why many believe it will be years down the road until it is fully enforced, if at all.
One thing remains true. Online poker players are a savvy bunch and no matter what law passes people will continue to gamble online. Deposit options will continue to come and go as the market shifts and players will adopt to these changes as they’ve done for the past months/years since the adoption of the UIGEA.
Even the gaming law professors don’t believe this law will stick. Professor Nelson Rose and respected Harvard Law Professors clearly say this law is beyond the scope of being feasible. Every reason for the law passing in the first place ie; terrorist funding, underage gambling, problem gambling etc. have been address in formal Congressional Hearings and in the opinions of the experts can be corrected under a regulated environment.
This US gaming law happened over night but the lingering affects of it will continue to occur for many years to come. The fight is not over, in fact things are looking good for poker players in the US.
Author: Roger Shriver - Compatiblepoker
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