AGA president and CEO, Frank J Fahrenkopf, Jnr, has reiterated his call for federally sanctioned licensing and regulation of online poker.
The latest round of legal action against online gambling companies has been praised by the AGA, but Fahrenkopf called the actions a "half measure" toward fixing the problem.
"Strong enforcement against illegal operators and unambiguous US laws is vital," Fahrenkopf said. "Unfortunately, these indictments are only a half measure. The full solution is law enforcement and federally sanctioned state licensing and regulation of online poker for gaming companies that currently abide by US law."
In the immediate aftermath of Black Friday, some of the 300 companies that continued to operate in the US, in spite of the law, saw a surge in new business and today there are more than 1,000 real-money websites operated by these offshore operators that still target the US market. The fact that these indictments were handed down by a grand jury in Maryland yesterday, despite the April 15 Justice Department actions, shows that offshore operators will continue to cater to demand and develop new techniques to circumvent the barriers put in place.
"Legislation is needed that removes the current ambiguity of UIGEA and provides a strong regulatory framework to preserve states’ rights to determine the online poker options available to their residents," Fahrenkopf added.
