Bush signs Unlawful Internet Gambling Act

13 Oct 2006

By Vin Narayanan

President Bush signed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Act into law today. The measure, which was attached to a ports security bill, bans American banks and credit card companies from completing transactions with Internet gambling companies.

The Associated Press reports Bush focused on security issues at today's signing ceremony and did not mention Internet gambling. (Related story: Legal analysis)

In response to the bill's passing, more than 250 sites – including six from Casino City's Top 10 most popular sites – have already announced that they will stop accepting bets from U.S.-based players. And on Thursday, Sportingbet sold its U.S.-facing businesses to a company based in Antigua for $1 and the assumption of $13.2 million in debt.

Publicly-held casinos have the led the exodus out of the U.S. market. Industry giants PartyGaming – parent company of PartyPoker – and 888 announced last week that they would stop accepting American bets when Bush signed the law. PartyGaming's stock has lost almost 75% of its value in the last two weeks. 888's share price has plummeted by more than 50% over the same period. Both companies drew most of their revenue from the $6 billion U.S. market. (Related story: PartyPoker mucks U.S. hand)

But American gamers will find that most privately-held casinos will still take their bets. Bodog, Golden Palace and VIP -- all in Casino City's Top 10 most popular sites – have announced their commitment to the U.S. market.

And about 85% of the online casinos will continue to take American bets, according to a Casino City analysis.

Language: English Location: Currency: > edit my preferences Home Online Slots Live Dealer Games Online Casinos Online Poker Online Bingo Games Lotteries Sports & Racebooks Fantasy Sports Forex Betting Exchanges Spread Betting Binary Options Exclusive Bonuses Weekly Newsletter Online Gaming News Payment Methods Gaming Software Gaming Site Owners Gaming Jurisdictions		Bonuses! New games! Gossip! And all the player news you can handle. Sign up NOW! View the current issue Vin Narayanan Vin Narayanan is the former managing editor at Casino City and has been involved in the gaming industry for over a decade Vin is currently based in Hong Kong, where he runs his own consultant group and works as head of gaming and public relations for Mega Digital Entertainment Group. Before joining Casino City, Vin covered (not all at the same time) sports, politics and elections, wars, technology, celebrities and the Census for USATODAY.com, USA WEEKEND and CNN. More about Vin Narayanan More articles by Vin Narayanan
	Bush signs Unlawful Internet Gambling Act 13 Oct 2006 By Vin Narayanan <a href='https://ad.casinocity.com/adclick.php?n=a21efcd1'><img src='https://ad.casinocity.com/adview.php?what=-site:vendors/width:250/RON&n=a21efcd1' border='0' alt='' /></a> President Bush signed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Act into law today. The measure, which was attached to a ports security bill, bans American banks and credit card companies from completing transactions with Internet gambling companies. The Associated Press reports Bush focused on security issues at today's signing ceremony and did not mention Internet gambling. (Related story: Legal analysis) In response to the bill's passing, more than 250 sites – including six from Casino City's Top 10 most popular sites – have already announced that they will stop accepting bets from U.S.-based players. And on Thursday, Sportingbet sold its U.S.-facing businesses to a company based in Antigua for $1 and the assumption of $13.2 million in debt. Publicly-held casinos have the led the exodus out of the U.S. market. Industry giants PartyGaming – parent company of PartyPoker – and 888 announced last week that they would stop accepting American bets when Bush signed the law. PartyGaming's stock has lost almost 75% of its value in the last two weeks. 888's share price has plummeted by more than 50% over the same period. Both companies drew most of their revenue from the $6 billion U.S. market. (Related story: PartyPoker mucks U.S. hand) But American gamers will find that most privately-held casinos will still take their bets. Bodog, Golden Palace and VIP -- all in Casino City's Top 10 most popular sites – have announced their commitment to the U.S. market. And about 85% of the online casinos will continue to take American bets, according to a Casino City analysis.