Banks await regulations on US Internet betting ban

[johnny1212]

Banks await regulations on US Internet betting ban

By Peter Kaplan 33 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The costs of policing a new U.S. Internet gambling ban for banks and credit card companies will be determined by regulators in the coming months, industry officials said on Monday.

Government officials are expected to propose a "coding-and-blocking" system that will identify and stop payment to online gambling sites, experts said. Many banks and credit card companies already voluntarily block Internet gambling transactions using such a system.

The
Treasury Department and
Federal Reserve Board have nine months to draft regulations after the new law, included in a package of port security measures passed by Congress on Friday and expected to be signed into law by
President George W. Bush.

U.S. banks and credit card companies are optimistic that officials will prepare a workable system.

"If the Treasury (department) and Fed can come up with reasonable rules here, it shouldn't be that bad," said Oliver Ireland, a lawyer who works with several financial services payment providers, including Visa.

"The way they built (the new law), it gives us a chance to work with the regulators in a constructive way to come up with a system," said Greg Mesack, director of government relations for industry trade group America's Community Bankers.

British-based gaming companies such as Sportingbet (SBT.L), PartyGaming Plc (PRTY.L) and 888 Holdings Plc (888.L) said on Monday they would likely pull out of the U.S. market, their biggest source of revenue, and their stocks plunged.

Some banking industry officials had worried that the new law would make them responsible for blocking payments by check as well as credit card payments, a requirement they had said would be unworkable.

But those concerns were allayed when lawmakers agreed to a provision allowing the Treasury and the Fed to exempt checks from the requirement.

Experts said the system would not be fool-proof, but would bar the vast majority of bettors.

"I suspect some smart enterprising person out there will find a way to (get around) it. But for your average person who wants to get out there and bet on college football, you're not going to do it," said one lobbyist.

Ireland agreed. "I think this puts in place a broader blocking system that's going to be harder to get past for the Internet (gambling) sites," he said.

[Dr. Jack]

Originally Posted by johnny1212

But those concerns were allayed when lawmakers agreed to a provision allowing the Treasury and the Fed to exempt checks from the requirement.

that's a good thing

[Brother Love]

well then thats it then it will go back to transaction through checks lol
ya know one thing you gotta luv about US politics is its consistant. they conistantly f%!k up everything they touch and in the end never gets it right and this will be same ol same ol lol

[yoffff]

Originally Posted by Brother Love

well then thats it then it will go back to transaction through checks lol
ya know one thing you gotta luv about US politics is its consistant. they conistantly f%!k up everything they touch and in the end never gets it right and this will be same ol same ol lol

Amen to that

[Bobtheicon]

Hurray for incompetence!!!