The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals upholds the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act or UIGEA.

The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, presided by judge Dolores Sloviter, on the 1st of September 2009, rejected that the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act or UIGEA be repealed. Joe Brennan Jr, the chairman of the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association or IMEGA, has always argued, that the act was unconstitutional and that it was too vague and encroached on privacy rights. This was dismissed by the judge whose tone and comments on the other hand, seemed to signal that all is not lost and it is down to individual states to establish their stance on online gambling, since betting on the internet has been made illegal in only a few states, leaving 44 open to changes in their gambling laws and regulations.

Of course, the ruling is a disappointment to all poker players who where hoping to see this case pave the way for more relaxed Online Poker regulations and legislations and internet gambling in general.

As the legislation stands, it is not illegal for Americans to engage in gambling related activities. However it is illegal for banks and merchants to allow transactions involving such activities. Thus penalizing the banking institutions instead of the gambler, should they authorize such transactions to go through.

One heartening fact, according to J. Brennan Jr, is that, as things stand at present - quote - ”The court made it clear — gambling on the Internet is unlawful where state law says so,” - “But there are only a half-dozen states which have laws against Internet gambling, leaving 44 states where it is potentially lawful. It’s not perfect, but it’s a good start”. Can we really detect a glimmer of hope in the horizon. J. Brennan Jr certainly seem to think so. We can only predict that he will be toiling hard to get those states to take a stance and decide once and for all what constitutes as illegal bet. The American gambling community and poker players in particular will keep a very close eye on J. Brennan Jr’s next move. No decision of appeal has been made yet. Let’s see if the words of optimism uttered following the ruling transpire in the harsh reality of the online gambling world.

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