While the US passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in 2006, it hasn’t stopped Americans from participating in online gambling, even though it outlawed internet gambling and restricted the ability of financial institutions to pay online gambling sites. Specifically, the UIGEA places restrictions on credit card companies and banks from transferring money for gambling.

The answer of the international internet gambling community to the law was to require online bettors to set up e-wallets as online deposit accounts hongkong pools. The e-wallets draft money from credit cards, debit cards, and bank accounts, and then route them to merchants that include gambling sites. Since many e-wallet programs are not based in the us, the money spent on internet gambling is taken outside of the US and therefore outside of US regulation.

So, basically, the UIGEA was not that effective, because people who wanted to gamble found ways to do so. After the UIGEA was signed into law, internet gambling sites moved out of the US and set up at offshore sites where online gambling isn’t regulated.

Because of the global financial meltdown that began in 2008, Congress is seriously rethinking the UIGEA, because if internet gambling were legalized in the us, it could be regulated and could be a huge source of tax revenue – to the tune of $42 billion by the year 2020! While many congressional representatives have moral objections to gambling in whatever form, most of them admit that the UIGEA is not going to stop Americans from gambling online.

The political tide seems to be turning in favor of legalizing online gambling in the us, and legislation to that effect has made it out of the committee level in the house of Representatives. However, as of late 2010, it is anyone’s guess as to when the legislation could make it to a floor vote. Congressional elections in November 2010 tend to make representatives shy away from any legislation that is perceived as controversial, so it is unlikely that anything will happen with the legislation until a new Congress is seated in 2011.

However, one group taking advantage of the slow pace of the us government is the tribal casino industry. In September 2010 Cake Gaming and Atlantis Internet Group signed an agreement to establish a network for online poker for players in tribal casinos in the us. This would represent the first officially legal online poker network in the us that offers multiple player internet poker across state lines for money. At least 30 states connect with the Tribal Gaming Network, allowing Tribal casinos to offer online poker. It is legal under the UIGEA due to Native jurisdictions’ special legal status. On the turn of a card, spin of a wheel or a roll of a dice millions of dollars are won and lost each day. The fascination with the excitement and risk of casino gaming has spread from the salubrious surroundings of casino floors worldwide and onto the world’s largest forum, the internet. For casino purists much of the thrill and excitement is lost or at least diluted if you can’t sit eye to eye with the croupier and shoulder to shoulder with other gamers. However such disparagement has not deterred millions of people all over the world to join in and gamble on the huge variety of virtual casinos.

The internet explosion has revolutionised numerous industries, making online shopping, auctions and even searching a profitable market. However few can match the phenomenal growth and resurgence of the online gaming industry. The transition from the real world to the world wide web has been far more successful than most pundits would have prophesised. Large companies have invested millions in refining software and buying up the catchiest domain names, in an effort to maximise their individuality and to continue the progression of the business. In return they have been rewarded with an industry that turns over billions of dollars each and every year, attracting more and more to the alluring realm of instant wins and huge profits.

But success usually breeds more success and in the case of the online gaming industry this has come in the form of affiliate marketing. To keep the industry growing and to keep people flocking to sites, many have employed the use of affiliate programs. These special advertising promotions utilise sites all over the internet, to basically promote a casino or group of casinos. Although the initial transaction may be free, the affiliate is rewarded on receipt of a new customer for the casinos. It may sound rather speculative but the effects and results make extremely good reading for both sides.

Casinos need customers in order to survive and affiliate-marketing businesses need to attract customers to the casinos in order to get paid. Therefore it is in the interest of both parties to not only promote themselves but to promote each other too. The knock on effect of a successful partnership not only sees the casino profit but the affiliate too. Because for each customer attracted to a casino site through an affiliate marketer, the said affiliate earns a percentage of the players total money generated for the duration of their lifetime on the site. Therefore by simply adding a few adverts and promoting not only said advertisements but also themselves, affiliates can earn a piece of the lucrative online gaming industry.