Antigua and Barbuda battle with the United States | IXGAMES

As Antigua and Barbuda awaits a resolution to its World Trade Organisation (WTO) battle with the United States, a related battle is being waged on another front. A subcommittee of the US House Committee on Financial Services is scheduled to conduct a hearing on the proposed Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). The UIGEA was passed in the US last year, but the regulations necessary to give effect to the legislation have not yet been released. Those regulations are expected to be the focus of the hearing. Representatives from the US Federal Reserve System, the US Treasury Department, the Credit Union National Association and the American Bankers Association are among those scheduled to testify before the subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade and Technology today. The hearing is expected to look at the burden the legislation places on US financial institutions. The UIGEA has not been well received by much of the banking and financial services community, which has complained that the law places the onus on these institutions to determine that transactions are related to Internet gambling and block such transactions. It also imposes criminal penalties for non-compliance. The UIGEA made it illegal for banks and other financial institutions to process and transmit payments for transactions with online gambling companies. The legislation effectively prohibits gamblers from using credit cards, cheques and electronic transfers to settle online wagers. The fallout included the dramatic reduction of the value of what was, at its peak -  estimated to be a US$12 billion industry. As a regulator of many Internet gaming operators, Antigua and Barbuda has also seen significant losses. Chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services Barney Frank has, meanwhile - proposed the passage of an Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act aimed at regulating and taxing Internet gambling services. The government of Antigua and Barbuda has said that it welcomes and supports this alternative to the UIGEA. Quite interesting – Barney Frank is great!!