June 4, 2010 (CAP News Wire) – This week, the UIGEA was the main focus of discussion for the mainstream media, which continues to give the online gambling media exposure above and beyond anything seen in previous years.
Concerned as always with the business side of gambling, Forbes featured an article typical of this week’s coverage that examined whether the UIGEA would sink the online poker industry.
But as the San Antonio Express-News points out, the official implementation of the UIGEA really wasn’t that big of a deal. “The biggest effects of the UIGEA passage were immediate in 2006,” writes Chuck Blount. “Many online sites shut down business for U.S. customers, including the No. 1 site in volume traffic — Partypoker.com.
“It also effectively scared away a large percentage of online poker players, even though the law says nothing about it being illegal to play. Recreational players were quick to cash out or played until busting out, never to deposit again.”
The Boston Herald’s coverage of this week’s UIGEA implementation features an interesting quote: “We’ve become the de facto cops on the beat,” said Jon Skarin, director of public policy at the Massachusetts Bankers Association. “They’ve been working on this for years. We don’t like it. Why are we the police officers for this type of activity?”
Coverage wasn’t all about the UIGEA, though. The UK’s Guardian and the Las Vegas Sun covered the kick-off of the World Series of Poker. (Needless to say, ESPN has been giving the event tons of coverage, too.)
In the New York Times, an economist cited Internet gambling taxation as one of the cures for the ailing economy. The AP also reported on MasterCard’s online gaming lobbying activities.
However, later in the week, a lot of coverage was focused on the European online gambling market, where a big ruling was brewing. More on that in the next edition of CAP News.