Ladies and gentlemen, we'd like you to give a big hand to the US Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006, which is back with us once again as a special, and rather unexpected guest. You see, while the UIGEA initially kicked around in 2006, the actual regulations that will implement it are just about to kick off.

Today, the House Financial Services Committee will be holding an emergency mark-up of some of this legislation. Why is it an emergency? Well, because while the whole thing is technically about 'gambling', the wording of the UIGEA isn't at all clear about what it actually is making unlawful, and when it comes to legislation and regulations, the words are everything. Words that are getting decided today.

While you might already be under the impression that the UIGEA was already active, the fact is that businesses have just been jumping the gun and attempting to regulate based on some rather fuzzy wording what they might not be permitted to do.

Online games of chance? Well, sure. What about online games of skill? That's where you use your knowledge and abilities to make a profit in an online activity. That's where we get to the sticking point, because virtual environment economies may yet fall into that yawning abyss between words.

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Continue reading Chance, skill and the law

Chance, skill and the law originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.