The Legality of Online Games

by: Stebee

Online games have been around for nearly 30 years now. They were first used as an educational tool, but then they quickly evolved into multi player games that people could play simultaneously with others from around the globe. Games which were playable from within internet browsers came along around about 15 years ago and thus gambling online came naturally. Online gambling became very popular very quickly and it is one of the most prosperous online industries in the world today. The World Wide Web has made it possible to gamble form anywhere, at anytime.

The evolution of technology started a revolution in the gambling world. Online gambling games spawned from Antigua and Barbuda in around 1994 where the law was passed that made it a legal jurisdiction and allowed the country to issue gambling licenses. Antigua and Barbuda is still one of the online gambling industry's most popular licensing jurisdictions today. An organization called eCOGRA (eCommerce and online gaming regulation and assurance) was founded in 2003 in order to provide a safer online environment for gamblers all across the world. In the beginning, there were disagreements about online gaming over the legality of the industry. The general public's opinion has evolved and changed many times over the years. Many who opposed the idea of online gaming were from the U.S. government. A revised Internet Gambling Prohibition Act was introduced which was designed to make it illegal for any company to offer an online gambling product to U.S. citizens but it failed to pass. Also, a new Internet Gambling Prohibition Act was introduced to the US House of Representatives, but it failed to attract the required two-thirds majority vote in order to pass. A passed bill eventually made it through the red tape, which made it illegal for banks and credit card companies to process payments from U.S. residents to online gambling companies. President Bush signed it into law on October 13th 2006. Many publicly-traded companies have had to close their operations to American players as a result of the bill. Up to 100% of some online games companies customer base was from American shores.

Before all this, financial growth in the online gambling industry had risen immensely, particularly because of the popularity of online poker. The online gambling industry may very likely be reduced to a few big companies as a result of this legal debate. This may not be a bad thing.

About the Author

There are now a few big conglomerate companies which offer a complete online gaming service. Mecca Games is one such conglomerate, where you can use your computer to play all your favourite casino games as well as some more interesting, unusual online games!

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