On-line Gaming for US citizens hit a problem this weekend when their Senate passed a bill outlawing the processing of on-line bets by banks and credit card companies. Known as “The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Bill” it is just waiting for George Bush’s rubber stamp.

Many industry pundits did not think the bill would be passed, but at a weekend hearing it was. The bill appears to be worded very specifically at overseas on-line gaming sites, as it specifically excludes US lottery games, high-street and riverboat casinos and horse racing, and “local” on-line betting (try defining that!). So it is clear that American politicians are pandering to their Religious Right in the most obnoxiously bigoted manner. Surely, if gambling is bad for American Citizens it is bad full stop, not just if it comes from overseas companies. But then few expect the US Government to have the balls to tackle the big guns in Vegas or the lucrative state lotteries. Funny that.

Many on-line gaming sites have a huge US customer base, and now they will not be able to take a US punter’s bet as the credit card companies and banks has been banned from allowing it. They know the customer’s address, and they know if a site is for gaming, so they should be able to block it.

The US has had many forms of protectionism over the years, and this is just a modern version. Rather than legalise, legislate and reap the tax rewards, the country’s Senate has seen fit to drive the activity of on-line gaming underground. There it will be at the mercy of crooks making money at the expense of US citizens. But, the world is a big place and the gaming sites know there is a huge untapped commercial base out there, so maybe they should forget the US for now and leave them to their domestic infighting.

However, ‘Where there is a will there is a way’ as the saying goes, and US citizens want to bet on-line, so over the coming months it will be interesting to watch how they, and the gaming sites, mange the situation. Meanwhile, in just a few hours of trading huge drops in the share prices of PartyGaming and Sportingbet have resulted as the UK stock market is swift to sell their shares.

The contents of this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of Take That Ltd. or gamble.co.uk

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