Online Casino Players Still Alive and Kicking in the US

2007 February 15, Erana Hansen

The UIGEA is attempting to prohibit US financial institutions from processing payments to online gambling sites but it hasn't stopped employees across the United States from visiting online casino and sports betting websites, according to cyber-security vendor Scansafe Ltd.

Scansafe provides a website blocking and filtering service to large businesses, examining approximately 6 billion web requests per month.

According to statistics generated from the tracking of employees of Scansafe's United States based customers, attempts to visit online gambling websites were up 77 percent in the week between January 23 and January 31.

The new laws introduced in October by President George Bush prohibit financial institutions from processing payments to online gambling sites. The US government has until mid-July to develop the processing regulations for financial institutions to implement.

But some online gambling sites have already blocked US customers and put processes in place to alert US players that financial institutions are distancing themselves from the online gambling industry. On Wednesday, PokerRoom (sister site of CasinoRoom) reportedly advised US customers to cash out their funds from their accounts.

"The remaining companies that process cashouts from PokerRoom to our players in the United States have contacted us to say that in the near future they will no longer facilitate these transactions," said a message on PokerRoom's home page. "As such, we would advise all American players that have not cashed out already, to do so immediately."

However the gambling provision, amended by Congress onto a safe ports security bill in late September, has had no impact on the number of people visiting gambling websites, said Dan Nadir, vice president for product strategy at Scansafe. Scansafe doesn't track whether those people completed bets, but the fact that the websites are still visited so frequently indicates that US players are still enthusiastic to remain part of the online gambling industry.

"We suspected (the law) wouldn't have much of an impact," Dan Nadir said. "Some gambling sites will simply develop alternative payment mechanisms."

There are still many online casinos out there that are happily accepting and supporting its US customer base as they work through the developments of the law and the provision of alternative payment methods for its players. Time will tell whether PokerRoom's announcements are premature; however US customers should remain alert to any developments but be assured that there are still plenty of players out there visiting online gambling websites and enjoying the thrills of their favorite online casino.