UIGEA on June 1st

Here is some excellent Q&A from some fellow FTF'ers:

What are people's thoughts about it? I'd specifically like to hear from those that make a living or atleast a large chunk of money from online poker. There are lots of threads about it on 2+2, etc., but very few of the well-informed people are letting their opinions be known. Most opinions are from people who have absolutely no clue what they're talking about. Obviously I never keep too much money online, but I have plenty of buyins right now because I've been grinding a lot lately and plan on having a very sizeable ironman bonus in July. However, this won't be very good if A) I can't withdrawal money at this point, or B) if the fish can't deposit money, so the games are completely reg infested.Thoughts and opinions? - ostornadoe


I'm fascinated that you want facts and not conjecture, yet ask other professional poker players to respond, as if THEY somehow become expert in this topic by the simple fact of their profession.

Well I ain't one of those, but perhaps 30+ years in the consumer finance industry and my past status as both an activist and a registered lobbyist for my industry may suffice?

If A) happens, move your account to another place and optionally sue your financial institution; the UIEGA specifically allows transactions in that direction (from the site to you.)

Issue B) is more a function of what people (including the people that run banks) chose to believe, and less a function of what the UIGEA causes, as evidenced by the current state of affairs online - which is already pretty "reg infested" as it applies to US players. I anticipate that some financial institutions may find a way to limit transactions from their account holders to what they believe to be "gambling site operators," but that is because they WANT to, not because they HAVE to (since actually knowing a payee is a gambling site is pretty fucking impossible unless the site is dumb enough to call itself Illegal Foreign Gambling Website, Inc. or something.)

On a non-financial industry tangent, however - there will always be European and other foreign players, and they suck so bad it takes a minimum of three US fish to equal one French idiot, so, to quote Alfred E. Neuman, "Why worry?"

PS: I've heard completely unsubstantiated and therefore highly suspect stories of financial institutions calling people in a microscopically small number of cases to inquire the source of funds being received for deposit to a player's account. In the case where the amount is less than $10k, the correct answer to this question, if it is really ever asked (which as I said I doubt) is, "Fuck off, it's none of your fucking business."

In the case where the amount exceeds $10k (or a series of similar transactions during a relatively short period of time, when combined, exceeds that amount) and if the transaction originates outside the U.S., you are required by law to answer the question. The correct answer for this question (again, in the imaginary case where it is actually asked) is "it comes from the company whose name appears as the payor in the transaction."

In the above situation, answer all questions about your identity and home address factually; they have the right - in fact, they are obligated under Federal law - to ask, and you are subject to some pretty severe penalties if you were to lie.

Finally, if asked the nature of the transaction, the answer "adult entertainment" has a nice ring to it. They are not entitled to more specificity than that. - Zerbet