It is hoped that by the end of the year the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act will be a thing of the past and online casinos will be legalized in the United States.  But even if that happens, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act really has already done its damage.

First, many companies never recovered from the devastating loses they suffered back in October of 2006 when the law was first passed.  Some companies barely made it and fought their way back to the top of online gambling and other closed their doors never to return.

Secondly, outside of the direct problems that arose from the law, there is the problem of the spin-offs.  Like the poor television shows that are often birthed from one character in a successful sitcom, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act had spin-off laws.  Countries that had been trying desperately to protect their domestic gambling monopolies from the international competition of online casinos used the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act as a model.

The clever thing about the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act and laws like it is that can significantly reduce the number of successful online casino transactions without interfering with the freedom of the Internet.  Countries that use laws like this put the burden on their financial institutions to deny any transactions from online casinos.  This is almost an impossible task to get 100 percent accurate.  It begs the question as to whether online casinos are really worth all the hassle.  It is usually easier for every one to regulate online casinos.