The future of online casinos looks promising in the United States.  Each week Barney Frank manages to receive more and more House Representatives, from both sides of the isle, signing on to HR 2267 as cosponsors.  Frank was even so optimistic to tell thousands of poker players that online casinos will be legalized in the United States by the end of they year. 

However this bright future may give cause to look back on a dark past.  There are several arrests that have been made recently due to the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act and the ban on online casinos.  Business like Internet Sweepstakes at local Internet Cafes and the arrest of a Canadian man for processing payments for online casinos have only emerged because the unregulated state of the industry has left voids in service.

Some of the people that have been operating in these grey areas in order to facilitate the Internet gambling industry in the United States will not only face fines but time in prison.  When online casinos are eventually regulated and legalized will these people still be seen as guilty?

It is an interesting question and a great topic of debate.  If nothing else the lawyers hired by these people will certainly have something to argue in a court of Appeals.  More recent cases, like the Canadian payment processor, might be able to postpone the trial until the end of the year.  If Representative Barney Frank makes good on his promise, the processor may be spared jail time.