Internet
The US Treasury
Department and Federal Reserve
Board delayed for six months
on Friday the enforcement
of new rules designed to
crack down on Internet gambling.
In a joint statement, the
Treasury Department and
Federal Reserve said US
financial institutions were
being given until June 1,
2010 to be in compliance
with the Unlawful Internet
Gambling Enforcement Act.
The act, which
would ban US banks, credit
card and financial companies
from handling unlawful Internet
gambling bets, had been
scheduled to take effect
on December 1.
Passed in
2006 under president George
W. Bush by the then-Republican
controlled US Congress,
the act has been the target
of criticism from financial
institutions and others
that it would be an enforcement
nightmare.
It prohibits
financial institutions from
knowingly accepting payments
for online gambling made
through credit cards, electronic
funds transfers, and checks.
Usa
Internet Gambling
It was aimed
at putting teeth into a
de facto ban on US residents
placing online wagers in
locations such as Britain,
Canada, Antigua and Gibraltar.
The US ban
on Internet gambling has
been challenged as an unfair
trade restriction at the
World Trade Organization
and a US congressman is
seeking to overturn the
2006 act with legislation
that would allow online
gambling.
The congressman,
Democratic Representative
Barney Frank of Massachusetts,
welcomed the six-month delay
by the Treasury and the
Federal Reserve.
He said they
“deserve a great deal
of credit for suspending
these midnight regulations
promulgated by the Bush
administration which would
curtail the freedom of Americans
to use the Internet as they
choose and which would pose
unrealistic burdens on the
entire financial community.
“This
will give us a chance to
act in an unhurried manner
on my legislation to undo
this regulatory excess by
the Bush administration
and to undo this ill-advised
law,” Frank said in
a statement.
