Online casinos have been the subject of controversy for many years.  The United States has passed bills that prohibit banks and other money transfer services from allowing clients to transfer money into an online casino.  This is because they believe that any money laundered through an online casino would be untraceable by law enforcement agencies.  They also hoped that passing this bill would help people refrain from engaging in, what they consider to be, an unhealthy activity.  Many online casinos have objected to this bill, however no rulings have been awarded to these casinos.  There have been many bills passed in the United States that makes it increasingly difficult for U.S. residents to engage in online gambling.

              On October 13, 2006, President George Bush signed the bill (the UIGEA bill) that would prohibit any money transfer into an online casino from any financial institution.  It was at this point that banks and online money transfer services no longer allowed U.S. residents to transfer money into an online casino.  A few months later, the CEO of BetonSports was arrested while changing planes in Texas because of his involvement in overseas based online gambling sites.  Other people who are involved in online casinos were also detained while in the United States while traveling.

              When the language of the bill was brought under scrutiny, mainly because the bill did not define what constituted ‘illegal online gambling,’  many Representatives began to propose bills that would allow games of skill to be legalized, as well as giving people the option to obtain a license that would allow them to establish an online casino.  On June, 8 2007, the idea that online casinos could be regulated and taxed began to take hold on many people and bills were introduced that would allow online casinos to begin operating in the United States again.

              The bills that were being introduced at this time were related to games of skill and not games of chance.  This frustrated poker players who claim that poker is a game of skill.  Chance games would include dice and roulette, games where the outcome is based entirely on chance.  Poker players hold that poker does not have outcomes that are based solely on chance, that it can be decided based on the skill of the player.  The bills that would allow for gambling in the realm of skill-based games do not include online poker.

              In June of 2009, the U.S. Department of Justice seized $34 million dollars in individual poker player’s money.  This money was the player’s payouts and the accounts that held the money were ordered to be frozen.  This was the first time that the U.S. Department of Justice took action against individual players.  Many speculate that this seizure came at a time when online poker was beginning to be viewed as a game of skill and it would be re-instated as a lawful activity in the United States.  Many believe that the Department of Justice took a risk when making this seizure.  Court hearings have yet to take place regarding these seizures.