A new law is which is waiting to be signed by President Bush that was introduced to Congress which is tying an estimated $12 billion in the online gaming industry to a halt. It is believed the bill was introduced by Tennessee senator Bill Frist, introduced the bill on the weekend by adding it with the Safe Port Act before Congress began its recess in November.
The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement judi slot Act that is set to be signed by president Bush is expected to effectively close off all gambling websites online and make it unlawful for any credit card, bank, company , or online payment service to process any payments made to online gambling businesses.
The new law says it is now illegal to accept payments from Online Gambling sites are now restricted from accepting any form of credit card, check or electronic transfer for online gaming across the US and puts the gaming industry in chaos.
Incredulous at the passage of this law In the wake of this law, the top executives in the gambling industry on the internet adopted drastic measures and began trading off their stock of the London Stock Exchange which erased an estimated $8 billion from the business. PartyGaming is the largest online gambling website, said they will end their relationships to the 920,000 current US customers that they currently have until Bush actually adopts the new law.
While the law isn’t signed yet however, the gaming industry is getting a significant hit. PartyGaming’s shares have fallen 60% and now sit at just .81 cents per share. Other sites such as SportingBet as well as 888 Holding were also affected by the changes as well, and they have lost a considerable amount of money in their shares. 888 Holding for instance, suffered a reduction of 48% on its shares. This brought the price to $1.42 on the British Market and announced that it would cease its online gaming business within the United States.
This isn’t the only Act that gave the federal government the authority to eliminate the gambling industry online. As per the 1961 Wire Act, the federal government is able to regulate online betting in poker, sports betting, and other games at casinos that are considered unlawful under the law.
This is severely affecting the economic health of the industry since this US consumer market accounts for between 50 and 60% of gambling industry’s revenue. These laws that are critical to operators of online gambling sites force companies to close down or leave, however, it is clear that they’re not welcome within America. United States.
The Madam Chairperson of the Interactive Gaming Council, Sue Schneider has predicted that more than 500 companies operating more than 2,300 online gambling websites across the globe are in danger of going out of business and could disappear from the business altogether. The few companies who are able to survive this apocalyptic situation will have to cope with a drastic cut on their profits and find new ways to grow again. The concept of opening up to the Asian market is now the preferred option for many.