Banks Start Sending Memos in UIGEA Build Up
Written by Roger S | Thursday, November 19th, 2009
As the time draws near for the legal implementation of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act on December 1st, US banks have started to carry out what is known as ‘due diligence’ – act in a way that is required of them by law to protect themselves against any wrongdoing in the future.
Online poker players may have received memos attached to their bank statements where it was stated that the bank in question may not be able to process certain transactions, following the implementation of the UIGEA.
An example of a memo sent out is as follows: “We’d like to inform you that in accordance with the requirements of the Unlawful Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 and Regulation GG, certain transactions are prohibited from being processed through your account. Prohibited transactions include those in which a person accepts credit, funds, or other proceeds from another person in connection with unlawful internet gambling. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this regulation, please contact us.”
The fact of the matter is that not only online poker players have been targeted by banks and some financial institutions have made it a standard practice to send these warning letters to all their customers.
So, in a sense, banks are practicing ‘due diligence’ and protecting themselves against the event of (heaven forbid) a gambling transaction getting through their system, but everyone involves knows that this is simply a symbolic gesture. Simply put, there is no way that banks can physically – nor should they be expected to – wade through the millions of transactions that they deal with each day in case an illegal poker or casino site is involved.
The question remains how many millions of dollars more have to be spent on the implementation of this law that the majority of Americans believe to be archaic, inconvenient and downright useless. The majority also believe that prohibition is definitely not the way to go, especially when so many millions of dollars can be recuperated back into the US economy through the creation of a legalized and regulated poker industry.
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· Written by Roger S · Filed Under Poker Gossip · Comments Off
