While the regulations of the Unlawful Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) have been published and are set to be implemented on January 19th of the coming year, they have missed addressing one major issue. The UIGEA regulations are set up with the aim of cutting off funds to gamblers by hitting banks and other financial institutions and having them shoulder the responsibilities in regard to blocking online transactions that are associated with internet gambling. The regulations, however, missed a huge issue because they do nothing in terms of addressing problem gambling. Nor does it provide any money for making progress in that area of concern.

While people may talk a good game about putting an end to problem gambling, few progressive and pragmatic notions ever really take hold in any meaningful way to actually address the problem. The help provided in this regard is usually very indirect – it usually amounts to nothing more than the equivalent of cutting off money for people who have a drinking problem. None of the proposals ever address the root cause of the issue. The only thing that the UIGEA regulations will accomplish is to make it a bit more challenging to get their gambling needs met by one single venue.

None of the money that has been allocated to help enforce the regulations from the UIGEA are set up to address the issue of problem gambling. Problem gambling involves a preoccupation with gambling, a desire to bet more money more and more often, restlessness and irritability when an attempt is made to stop, a loss of control and ‘chasing’ losses. The online gambling industry itself has not made much progress in terms of addressing the issue of problem gambling, choosing instead to wait for solid and lasting regulations to be put in place before making any sort of move in that direction on their own.

Although he was struck incredibly surprised by the Bush administration’s last-minute attempts to push through the uiGEA regulations, Barney Frank was also incredibly disappointed. For more than two years, financial and government leaders have brought testimony on the ineffective, illogical and unenforceable issues that are evident through the law. The UIGEA attempts to block payment transactions that have any ties to the online gambling industry. What the Bush administration and Treasury officials are now doing is known as pushing a “midnight drop” of regulations.

Even though Frank has asked Henry Paulson to slow down the process and in effect save it as something for the incoming administration to deal with after careful review and discussions over the proposed rule changes. Frank, a Representative from Massachusetts, has been dedicated to trying to dismantle the damage that the UIGEA has brought to the industry. He is pushing for a bill that would halt UIGEA implementation so that the financial system within the United States can be kept on a more stable level as it goes through an increasingly challenging time with the shoddy economy.

Pushing through with the finalizing efforts on the UIGEA will bring a substantial burden on the incoming president and his administration, a burden that is really unnecessary with all of the other more pressing obligations they are going to have to confront in their first few months in office. If the current administration does have success with pushing through the new regulations, they will go into event the very last day of Bush’s last term in the White House, after going through a review by the Office of Management and Budget and a 60-day consideration period.