European Poker and Gambling Legislation
I find it slightly amusing that, despite the American Banking Association’s declaration that UIGEA is unworkable, several European countries are still endeavouring to following an UIGEA style approach to the restriction of online poker/gambling. When UIGEA first landed on US doorsteps it didnt take Einstein to understand that it was fundamentally flawed in many regards, and cobbled together no doubt by people with no comprehension of the true nature of the internet.
Without a serious restriction of all cival liberties in a modern age, the internet and business/activity conducted on the internet cannot be controlled by any one country. It can be policed, but it cannot be controlled. Policing involves searching out and shutting down unsavourey elements after the fact. That is possible. What is not possible is governing peoples behaviour and their online movements.
UIGEA is flawed because it is unable to cope with the fact that privately owned gambling companies are hosted and legislated in countries outside their borders, and that deposits made to those companies cannot be tracked due to numerous levels of 3rd party payment processing.
Without installing a regime into your country where no citizen is allowed to purchase anything over the internet, then restriction of 3rd party payment processors beyond your borders is not possible without full unilateral worldwide legislation, which is a non-existant concept.
Sure, if some execs of a big payment precessor such as Neteller happen to land on US soil (as they did), you can hit them hard, but the truth of the matter is that there will always be an abundance of new payment processors waiting in the wings (from countries all over the world), ready to take up where the last left off. The online gambling companies themselves are very quick to facilitate the new deals with new companies, as it is fundmental to their businesses. The banks themselves are tied in knots over selectively trying to restrict any movement of money which might eventually end up at a payment processor which can fund a gambling/poker account. It simply isnt possible in a consumer driven freemarket economy. A fact which the banks themselves readily admit to.
The motivation behind legislation such as this in both the USA, and European countries such as Germany trying to follow suit, is undoubtably a large proportion to do with tax, and a smaller proportion due to social conscience. Prohibition was unsuccessful for alcohol (driving it underground), and in the end it was obvious that large tax revenues could be generated if alcohol was allowed but regulated. The same applies for online gambling. You can drive it the equivalent of underground and never truely erradicate it, with people still spending money on it, OR you can accept it as a fact and try to impose reasonable regulations which will mean more tax could be generated from it.
For the European countries which are also embarking on this path, some lessons should be learned and learned quickly by the failure of the legislation in the United States.
Tags: European Poker Ban, Poker Legislation, UIGEA