Below is a letter I wrote to the Federal Reserve on why I feel a “No Vote” is important on the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (or UIGEA). The link to the Federal Reserve Comments is also below, and you will find the title “Prohibition on Funding of Unlawful Internet Gambling [R-1298]” about half way down the page. My letter is hastily written and I would revise it if I could but it gets two points out there.

www.federalreserve.gov/generalinfo/foia/ProposedRegs.cfm

To whom it may concern:

Security and Accountability For Every Port Act of 2006 (or SAFE Port Act, Pub.L. 109-347: Title VIII of the Act is also known as the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (or UIGEA). This title (found at 31 U.S.C. § 5361–5367) prohibits the transfer of funds from a financial institution to an Internet gambling site, with the notable exceptions of fantasy sports, online lotteries, and horse/harness racing.

I am writing today to ask that you please not finalize the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) regulations until their impact on our banking systems and average Americans has been fully studied. Finalization of the UIGEA rules will add additional burdens on our already crippled financial systems, and even the focus behind UIGEA is misdirected. Specifically the federal agencies responsible for our nation’s economy should not be focused on the banning of Internet poker, which is what UIGEA is mostly about.

One of the ways the UIGEA is misdirected is listed in its very own explanation, where it says it “prohibits the transfer of funds from a financial institution to an Internet gambling site, with the notable exceptions of fantasy sports, online lotteries, and horse/harness racing.” Why are there exceptions for Fantasy Sports, online lotteries, and horse/harness racing? The simple answer is: taxable money; and taxable money should be our answer… vote NO on UIGEA and lets rewrite something that lets us receive benefits from online players.

The truth of the matter is that UIGEA is mostly an attack on poker players. Poker should be considered a game of skill and form of the reaction of millions of Americans; it should be exempted from the UIGEA, on top of the fact that the UIGEA is misguided.

Sincerely,
David

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