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Originally Posted by sperbonzo
Actually, it was really initiated by the state department. I was involved when gaming was still legal, and I was around for some highish-level discussions with the major players. The government's stance was that it was too easy of a way to transfer funds without oversight.
Say for example you wanted to get a large amount from your group in the middle east, to another group inside the US. Using wires, western union, etc... is too carefully watched. Instead you set up a gaming site, rig it so that someone loses a million dollars in Egypt say, and someone in the US wins a million. Now the money has been transferred without proper oversight (according the the government guys that were speaking to us)
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I heard this too but never bought that case study. This was so fresh after 9/11 that all you had to do was say its 'anti-terrorist' and you'd get approval without debate..
Too me what stuck out was that there still many simpler ways to transfer money outside of setting up a 'casino site'.
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I'm not saying that I agree with the government on this, but the control of international funds transfers was the biggest reason why this went through, nothing to do with the religious right.
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I'd honestly have to go back and research some old stuff, but I remember some prominent senators that were pushing and supporting this through the years and all the re-writes. Its also so hypocritcal because they made sure to state that Horse racing, Online lotteries and Fantasy sports were not included in the law, and to make sure the Federal Wire Act wasn't referenced. What really irks me is how they snuck it onto the SAFE port act after it was passed by the senate without having the UIGEA on it. Very shady tactics for a law that doesn't even define what 'unlawful Internet Gambling' is.