Internet Gambling Funding Prevention Act |
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Posted Mon Aug 16, 2004 7:28 am GMT by krakajak
The U.S. Senate is set to vote on the Internet Gambling Prevention Act (S. 627) in September. If passed, this act will prohibit financial institutions from transferring funds to internet gamling sites. I hope the American readers of this forum will write their Senators, expressing their opposition to this act. If that is too much trouble, there is a website that has a form letter you can send. The site is called profreedom.com. I get an error message when I type the name into my browser. However, going to Captain Cooks Casino, and clickicking the link with the American flag will get you there.
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Posted Mon Aug 16, 2004 10:59 am GMT by ORGrinder
thanks for the heads up...
also folks... spread the word on other forums as well. i'm gonna post this up on side-pot... but if anyone is a poster on other forums... lets get the word out.
also... perhaps if your table isn't a bunch of mutes... you could mention the website as well and tell them to help out.
http://www.profreedom.com/ seems to work for me... maybe you have to have the www there or something... but that link should work for everyone. you can also go the direct route if you a bit nervous about using a 3rd party to identify your senator. goto http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm and look yours up and shoot them a quick email.
:D
Posted Tue Aug 17, 2004 11:39 am GMT by ORGrinder
okay... i can't find the form letter on that one site... has anyone got a copy or has anyone written a letter yet (or email) to their rep? i'm trying to draft something and will post if i come up with something good... but i'm having a bit of writers block. it would be nice if i had something as an example.
Posted Tue Aug 17, 2004 12:31 pm GMT by skel
I want to write an anonymous letter saying "I will kill you if I cant gamble online anymore" but its just an idea so far
Posted Tue Aug 17, 2004 1:21 pm GMT by ORGrinder
okay folks... here's my attempt at a form letter.
if you want to email this directly to your senator(s), just make sure you fill in the appropriate name, address, and date information (parts marked in red).
| Quote: | Today’s Date
Your U.S. Sentaor’s Name
Address (Building and Office#)
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator (Last Name):
A bill before the Senate seeks to prohibit millions of Americans from openly accessing the internet. If passed, S. 627, the “Internet Gambling Funding Prohibition Act” will prevent the transfer of funds for use in the online gaming industry.
This bill would require credit card companies and other financial institutions to monitor customer accounts for transactions relating to online gaming and prohibit any such transactions. Senator’s Jon Kyl (R - AZ), Diane Feinstein (D - CA), and Richard Shelby (R - AL) seem to have forgotten the lessons learned from the failed logic and success of the alcohol prohibition of the 1920’s. They also seem to have missed the opportunities that a properly regulated online gaming industry would provide to every state in the nation.
Not only would the prohibition of online gaming (which is the obvious and ultimate goal of this bill) succeed only in driving online gaming underground (as was the case in the 1920’s with respect to the consumption of alcohol) but it would deprive the states of a great source of revenue generating power. Proper and appropriate licensing and regulation of internet gaming would extend appropriate protection against gambling by minors, problem gambling, money laundering, and any other questionable and/or illegal activity. Furthermore, regulation, as opposed to prohibition, would create a substantial source of revenue for state governments.
Today, in the absence of appropriate licensing and regulation by the United States, the estimated 2 billion dollars in online gaming wagers being placed by Americans across the country is going to offshore entities. This dollar figure is expected to grow significantly in the years to come. If the operators processing online gaming wagers were U.S. based, this growth would yield many millions of dollars to state and federal government agencies.
History tells us that unnecessary attempts at prohibition fail. It is clear that the internet gaming industry will continue to be a part of millions of Americans lives. The solution for the U.S. is NOT to deny Americans this right, but to take appropriate steps to ensure that their revenue interests and citizens are protected. The answer is NOT prohibition… it is proper licensing and regulation.
I ask that you oppose the “Internet Gambling Funding Prohibition Act” (S.627) and protect the liberties and privacy of Americans across the country.
Respectfully,
Your Name Here
Online Gaming Enthusiast
Concerned American
Your City, Your State Your Zip |
Posted Tue Aug 17, 2004 2:05 pm GMT by skel
I dont see how this is really going to effect online gambling. Neteller for instance isnt a US based company therefore the laws wont apply to them. We would still legally be able to transfer funds to neteller and then have neteller transfer funds to pokersites.
Posted Thu Aug 19, 2004 8:28 am GMT by wEbMaStEr
This doesn't directly effect me, not being a US citizen.
However i feel that this is an important matter involving internet gambling.
I feel that rather than, as correctly said by skel, let this pass and then use NETeller or Firepay or something as a way around this bill, that action should be taken to prevent this being necassery. I feel it is the duty of every US citizen who uses the Internet for gambling purposes, or indeed any American who values freedoom of choice, to take action to oppose this bill. Don't just leave it up to someone else to do and then complain about it later. DO something about it!
I said this doesn't directly effect me but it will, apart from being a freedom of choice fan, if this bill will pass it will make it harder, no matter how slightly, for people to use their credit cards to fund their gambling, this will reduce the amount of fish swimming around and probably be instrumental in the demise of internet gambling.
On a sidenote......
This morning i recieved a letter from my credit card company informing me that as of sept. 1st they will no longer be processing transactions with internet gambling sites.
I am mightily pissed off about this as my Ladbrokes account pays out directly into my credit card, this takes a matter of days and beats the hell out of waiting for a cheque to arrive and then process.
Funny, they didn't seem to mind at all when i was using their cc to pay into my account, but are taking action now, after i totally cleared my credit card bill in 1 swoop, and went into credit with them. (depriving them of their monthly interest payment  )
So, screw them, they will shortly be recieving my request to cancel my account with them, and the reasons why this is. i.e. them deciding what i can and cannot use the card for.
Posted Fri Aug 20, 2004 3:30 pm GMT by ShoelessJoe
I posted about it on a few online gaming forums as well as some fantasy football forums.
That should get to a lot of people, hopefully it'll keep getting passed on from forum to forum.
Posted Fri Aug 20, 2004 4:06 pm GMT by buchkoba00
Done and done
Posted Mon Aug 23, 2004 8:06 pm GMT by krakajak
First of all, thanks to the mods for posting this topic as an announcement, so that it doesn't get lost in the shuffle (pun intended).
This law, if passed, will affect non-american players, not only as web said, by placing the red and white striped, star spackled fish on the endangered species list, (the sharks will find a way around the law, but the fish won't bother), the lack of revenue from the u.s. will put many poker rooms out of business. In the Senate report that accompanied the bill, they estimated that 70% of all online gaming revenue comes from the u.s.
To address Skel's concern: How the law works is, they will make a list of on-line gaming sites, and once a site is on the list, financial institutions won't be allowed to transact business with those sites. Neteller is not based in the U.S., and doesn't even have an office here (smart move), so they are beyond the law's jurisdictions. From what I read, it didn't seem like the law would prohibit U.S. banks from doing business with Neteller. But then again, whoever is responsible for making the list will probably realize that most people don't deposit their funds directly to the casinos, but use 3rd parties instead. I doubt that anyone would stop them from adding those 3rd parties to the list.
I have posted this message on a few forums, and most people seem to have the same response: "This doesn't apply to Neteller." But trust me, the government will find a way to make it apply to Neteller if that is what they want to do. Furthermore, it isn't much trouble to add your name to the list, so why not do so, just in case?
I emailed Neteller to inquire what implications the act, if passed into law, would have on my Neteller use, but they haven't responded yet. I'll post as soon as I get a reply.
UPDATE: It has been over a week, and Neteller has not responded, even though I sent my email twice. My guess is that they have no idea how this law will affect our ability to use their services, and so they don't respond because they don't want to give misinformation. Perhaps a phone call is in order. At any rate, this is all the more reason why you should put your name on the list./url
Posted Mon Aug 23, 2004 10:02 pm GMT by Dr_Pablo
Would this effect IGM direct pay?
Posted Thu Aug 26, 2004 5:00 pm GMT by buchkoba00
I actually got a response:
*******************************
August 25, 2004
Mr. Brian *****
*******
*****, Minnesota *****
Dear Mr. *******:
Thank you for contacting me regarding S. 627, the Unlawful Internet
Gambling Funding Prohibition Act. This bill, as you know, would prohibit
gambling across state lines through the Internet by disallowing the
receipt of credit card and other payments by on-line casino operators.
This measure was voted out of the Judiciary Committee unanimously on July
31, 2003.
I will keep your opinions in mind should the legislation be considered on
the Senate floor. Thank you again for being in touch, and please feel
free to contact me with any other questions or concerns you may have.
My best regards.
Sincerely,
Mark Dayton
United States Senator
Posted Thu Aug 26, 2004 6:32 pm GMT by ORGrinder
neat. did you use my letter or the one on that website?
LOL
Posted Fri Aug 27, 2004 9:55 am GMT by buchkoba00
The one on the site.
Posted Fri Sep 10, 2004 1:07 pm GMT by Lance912
Hey guys,
Are you sure they are planning on voting on it this September? If you get that info from www.profreedom.com, that tidbit was posted there in August 2003. That site hasn't been updated much because not much has happened.
I thought the general consensus was that this bill had no chance of passing during an election year. The US Chamber of Commerce has come out strongly against it. Basically,t he banks would hate it because it would make them change their whole system of banking. The bill would stop credit cards, ACH (EFT on Neteller basically), and Wire transfers:
Credit Card= easy, they already do it b/c all transactions are coded by what you buy
ACH/Wire Transfer= very hard. Currently, transactions are not coded so they would have to totally chance the system, implement coding, make sure the coding works for trillions of transactions, not exactlly something these banks want to mess with for a two-bit industry.
I read that Kyl may try to piggyback his bill onto another as a last ditch effort, but I wonder where you heard that they are voting on the bill itself soon.
Posted Fri Sep 17, 2004 11:23 pm GMT by Fast0ne
I can only assume the reason this bill is being passed is probably due to the Feds not being able to tax or charge fees to the sites. They get millions in fees from all of the Native American casinos, Vegas, etc. but have no control over the internet.
I can only assume they need more $$ to pay for the "War on Terrah"
P.S. I know this is not a forum for political discussion...I just like saying Terrah
Posted Sun Sep 19, 2004 5:51 am GMT by Carson Cashman
Mwahahaha!
http://www.casinocitytimes.com/news/article.cfm?contentID=144950
Posted Sun Sep 19, 2004 6:29 am GMT by Geno
It still sounds pretty up in the air really, how long does this sort of thing take in the US to get thru the bureaucratic cycle?
Posted Tue Sep 21, 2004 12:21 pm GMT by flafishy
| Geno wrote: | | It still sounds pretty up in the air really, how long does this sort of thing take in the US to get thru the bureaucratic cycle? |
Well, depends on the quantity and quality of support an issue might have across both houses of Congress.
The short answer is that a lot of these things are the pet projects of only one or two lawmakers who will try to push it through a subcommittee of a committee with no real hope of it going anywhere. A lot of times, they'll try introducing or pushing through a bill merely to get some good press to impress their constituents. That works sometimes if their constituency is particularly conservative or has a disproportional interest in a particular issue.
If a bill has good support in both houses of Congress, a law can get passed fairly quickly -- within a few months.
My sense is that this one won't really go anywhere because the fairly powerful banking lobby won't allow it. It would be too costly for institutions to put a system in place to comply with it. Most CC banks refuse to allow transactions with Internet gaming sites, but they already have a system in place to monitor details of transactions.
Posted Wed Jan 05, 2005 12:19 am GMT by Bleakill
is this still an issue?? i mean, this doesnt apply to me in any way but im just curious how far may redneck government and bureaucracy go...
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