Back in 1996, the explosion of online casinos gaming swept the world. The United States had been a big part of this, and many players had turned to online casinos for all their games. For many years, these casinos continued to play with undiminished strength. Unfortunately, as early as 2006, legislation was passed that made it a bit difficult for online casinos to continue operating. This legislation, sneaked in by piggyback through the Safe Port Act, would be called the Illegal Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, and it became a nail in the eye of online gamblers, online casinos, and all the payment processors there are.
The Illegal Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006, or UIGEA, had in a nutshell, banned banks and processors payment from handling transactions that would correlate to online gambling. This not only complicates loading accounts, but also pulls out. While US online casinos have continued to operate, they have had to use payment processors that would circumvent these restrictions.
Unfortunately, the UIGEA was not even set to enter into force until December 2009, believing the consequences of the legislation had fallen out which would be nothing short of a disaster for many online gaming companies, especially those that relied heavily on the US market.
UIGEA had paralyzed many of the operations around the world that used the US market to stay one step ahead in profits while keeping losses to a low. The consequences ran deep damage many companies operating these casinos.
Not only had some of the larger, listed online casinos taken a big hit on the price per share, which in turn harms the shareholders of these companies, but also cost the companies profits from the US market.
PartyGaming will think specifically, even if other big gaming companies had taken a hit. In addition, many executives in charge of several of the online casinos, including Anurag Dikshit, one of the early founders of PartyGaming, had been prosecuted and fined for their involvement in online gambling – despite the fact that these companies were founded outside the United States.
Payment processors had also been significantly affected, as many of these financial firms had taken a beating from federal persecution, which in some cases amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars in seizures. Unfortunately, the UIGEA had not even been invoked in many of these attacks. Rather, the Wire Act of 1961, a law that had passed years before the Internet even began to evolve into what we see today.
Despite the laws that had begun to inhibit online casino gaming, many online casinos continued to accept US players. While several of the major brands of online casino had moved away from the US market, many others had remained steadfast in their dedication to delivering casino games to the US market.
Although there are online casinos still operating in the United States, the choice has been limited. To focus on a marginal market, online casinos that accept US players had to provide a higher quality service. That being said, these online casinos have had to outclass the older forms of software that had strayed from the US market.
There are currently three major brands of casino software that have yet to cease operations in the United States. These brands do not intend to leave the US market, and still do not perform those who have already left the US players high and dry.
Real Time Gaming or RTG, Rival Gaming, or simply Rival and Odds, also known as Vegas Technology, are the three types of casino software still accepted by Americans. Each carries its own unique characteristics, although they generally surpass those that have left the United States behind, including Microgaming, Playtech, and others.
While some of the individual casinos operated under these brands have decided not to settle for the claim of the United States government, almost all of them continue to provide US players with high quality casino games.
Casinos operated by RTG are one of the superior three. Real Time Gaming has taken high quality games to players across the United States. Their superiority comes through the digital eloquence of their games. Rather than delivering tired and bland table games and slots, they have taken steps to ensure that every player will enjoy smooth graphics and games in their casino. Real Time Gaming casinos provide their players with enough variety to remain entertaining, as well as great bonuses for their players. Casinos outside the United States, especially Microgaming casinos, will almost always fail when it comes to bonuses. Through integrated security, these casinos under the RTG brand also remain the safest.
The other brand of casino games comes through Rival Gaming. Rival Gaming has created and subsequently distributed a unique series of games. These games, the Interactive Slots, have brought a whole new level of entertainment to slot machines.
Rather than standard spinning reels, Rival has raised the bar to the top of casino games. Their table games have also been a huge hit, bringing in players who are simply trying to play cards, dice or other table based casino games. Although players outside the United States can enjoy Interactive Slot, there is no international online casino that blocks US IP addresses that offer something remotely similar to Power and various I-Slots.
Finally, we come to the odds. With Odds on casinos, players the right to use one of the original types of online casino software. Odds on have revolutionized the way games are played, especially slots. The Odds on bonus slots have brought hundreds of thousands of dollars to their winners. In addition, these bonus slots are backed by the major multiplayer slot tournaments which have become a staple of many players around the world.
The size and popularity of these tournaments is almost exclusive to Odds On. Slot tournaments provide players with the ability to enjoy slot games without an overwhelming financial risk, while having easier access to big wins. Although other types of casino software will periodically give players the chance to enjoy slot tournaments, no one will be as versatile or common as those with odds – again, online casinos that accept US players are superior to those only available open to European actors.
Although casinos accepting Americans have had an uneven path, especially in 2009, hope is on the horizon. The Illegal Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which had a deadline of December 2009, has been delayed. This delay bought the time, six months to be exact, which allows lawmakers to reconsider the law’s demise.
Several lawmakers, most notably Congressman Barney Frank, have pushed for a change in legislation. To facilitate the investment in regulated Internet casino games, each individual can contact their senators and representatives to express their opinion.
There are also policy action committees, such as the Poker Players’ Alliance, which try to get casino games in the homes of players across the United States. Despite these laws, casinos are still operating for US players ranked far above those who have decided not to continue operating Stateside.
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