US State of Illinois
Approves Online Gambling
 June
1 - Up until now
online gambling has been banned throughout the United States,
but a bright light has appeared on the horizon in the form of
the
US state of Illinois,
which at the end of May took the unexpected but hugely
welcome step of allowing its citizens to take part in horse
race betting online.
According to recent reports, the
state House in Illinois signed off on a proposal aimed at
expanding horse race betting to the internet,
which will give horseracing fans legal access to websites that
offer online betting services. The
new online gambling bill
was voted in by the House by an overwhelming 87 votes to 27.
In addition,
video gambling machines were legalised in the state last week,
although a proposed bill to expand casino gambling in the states
did not pass the vote. Still, the
'forward-thinking' nature of Illinois' lawmakers is encouraging
to supporters of the eventual legalisation of online gambling
across the US.
The only concern is how the
Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act
(UIGEA) - the draconian piece of legislation passed by Congress
in October, 2006 which banned online gambling throughout the
country - will impact on Illinois'
new online horseracing betting policies,
given the nature of the Act.
While UIGEA does not prevent Americans from gambling online, it
does make it
illegal for US banks, credit card companies and other financial
institutions to process online gambling-related payments.
Thus, US online gambling fans cannot deposit or withdraw funds
into and from their online accounts.
Under Illinois' new proposal, its
citizens will be able to sign up with online betting sites and
open secure accounts from their own homes.
They can then deposit playing funds into their accounts and
place bets as they like. Their
winnings and losses are then automatically added or deducted
to and from their accounts.
Part of the reason Illinois has decided to open up online
betting, is that it claims the
bill will help raise much-needed revenues for the state
- which like most US states has been hard hit by the current
economic recession - as well as
give the struggling horse racing industry a welcome 'shot in the
arm'.
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