Wednesday, April 16, 2008

ePassporte Bows To UIGEA; No More Online Gambling Transfers

In late 2006, the US government passes the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), prohibiting the transfer of monies between US residents and online gambling operations. Since then, US players have had an increasingly difficult time finding a viable method to deposit and withdrawal funds from such facilities.

Originally, ePassporte became the top preferred method for such transactions, stating its continued commitment to accept US player transfers. It would seem those days have come to an abrupt halt, according to email correspondence between the ePassporte Company and online gaming site, Pitbull Poker.

Evidently, ePassporte has bowed to the pressure of the US government, now declining to accept any monetary transactions to/from US residents that involve online gambling sites. There is a letter currently circulating the Internet said to be from ePassporte, to Pitbull Poker. In the letter, Gregory Elias of ePassporte states that it is suspending its accounts with Pitbull Poker, and that their agreement is hereby terminated.

Elias claims that while ePassporte firmly believes that these transactions are completely legal, the company is not willing to chance that the US government may disagree. Elias goes on to comment as to the ongoing investigation led by the U.S. District Attorney's office, based out of New York, set forth to deal with such matters.

Both the US Federal Reserve and US Treasury Department have offered testimony stating that the UIGEA lacks proper definition and is not sufficiently enforceable. Furthermore, several members of US Congress are actively working to halt enforcement of the UIGEA and effectively toss out the bill altogether. Even so, ePassporte has apparently chosen to remove itself from the situation, presumably due to strong-arm tactics by the US government.

US residents who once took advantage of ePassporte as a means of funding their online gambling accounts must once again find a secure, viable method of depositing. The departure of ePassporte from the US related online gambling market is being deemed shameful and premature, as many experts believe the UIGEA to be inappropriate, unenforceable and ultimately disregard-able as it may soon be entirely removed from US legislation.

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