More Seizures
September 30, 2009
It is almost becoming commonplace for the United States government to seize funds from online gambling patrons. The government has recently just seized the online gambling accounts from Wachovia Bank that were destined to go to players. It would seem that the United States government has decided that if they can't get people to stop participating in online gambling they are simply going to take any money that they earn while doing it.
Several months ago, the United States government began seizing accounts that belongs to companies that were going to pay out United States online gambling customers. The accounts were frozen and in the time since then more seizures have taken place. Wachovia Bank is not the only company to have been hit by this as Bank of America, Interstate Net Bank, and First Premiere Bank have all had accounts seized by the government.
With the arguments that online gambling laws are vague at best within the United States, many wonder where the authority comes from to seize these accounts. In addition, they argue that all of the polls show that United States citizens feel that online gambling should be legal and it is a small minority of citizens that do not. Many thought after the first seizure that the government was simply trying to make a statement towards the online gambling community, but this appears not to be the case.
With so many bills currently in Congress right now seeking to overturn the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, one would think that the government would cool its heels.
