Another Work Around
The UIGEA is closer than ever before to being repealed as Barney Frank’s
alternative piece of legislation, bill HR 2267, works its way through the House
and the Senate. As close as HR 2267 is to finding passage, the UIGEA is still in
place and that means that offshore online casinos are still blocked from the US
market and other forms of chance gambling, such as betting are best left alone.
The UIGEA’s presence has once again inspired a work around this month that has
just launched in the US and targets college students. This new betting site is
actually billing itself as a game of skill and highlights that students are able
to submit their academic record and then bet on their potential performance in
certain courses. It’s not even remotely like the online casino industry, but is
it enough like the illegal betting sites to get flagged by federal officials is
the question?
The new betting system is being marketed as a way for students to invest in
their own potential academic success and they can use the online casino -like
betting system as a motivator to actually do better than they have in the past –
if they do they will be rewarded. Steven Wolf is the CEO of the new betting
site, Ultrinsic, and he really highlights that all of the online bets are based
off of skill rather than chance because the student’s actual academic
performance has been taken into consideration.
One of the chief concerns that has leapt to the surface right away by online
casino gambling opponents is the fact that this software is focused on young
adults – college students who are trying to pay bills and many who take out
loans to actually afford their college education. These opponents argue that a
site such as this betting system will prey on the under-performing students in
the US. |