Most of the gambling industry was taken by surprise when the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was passed by the government in 2006. The bill had actually taken form sometime in 1998, with the Congress pushing to get it passed. However, it could not see the light of the day, more due to law related issues. The law prohibits acceptance of any type of financial instrument such as credit card, drafts, checks etc. in connection to unlawful internet gambling. This excluded online lotteries, horse racing and fantasy sports.
In 2006 advocates of the bill sighted that online gambling involved large amount of money, taking a huge chunk out of American economy. It also posed typical threats of the internet involving online transactions such as identity theft, money laundering and national security thus, wanting a regulatory body in place to check these issues. In response the general public saw the law as being unnecessary as gambling involved adults capable of making their own decisions regarding money.
Even if the law has not been able to completely ban online gambling there are several factors that would govern its success. It may not be easy for financial service providers to regulate the online transactions related to online gambling. This would require sincere cooperation from site owners and operators as well as banks.