Free Money Online Casinos - To Good To Be True?
Most online casinos offer free bonuses that can be very enticing to new players looking to take advantage of these free offers.
But, with recent changes to US legislation, this poses some serious risks for players who visit less than reputable online casinos.
The problem started back in October, 2006, when in the final moments of the last Republican dominated session, Rep. Bill Frist attached an unrelated anti-gambling bill to the Safe Port Act without anyone in the Senate having any knowledge of it until fifteen minutes before the Act was introduced to the floor for debate. The Safe Port Act is an important act that protects the security of the US borders and as such it passed almost unanimously in both the Senate and House. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, UIGEA, was now in place to make it unlawful for payment processors to process online gambling transactions from US citizens.
How does this affect you?
It's simple, while most legitimate casinos have worked hard to minimize the impact of this legislation, there is a new breed of online casinos who have taken advantage of this situation. They do this by gladly taking your money, but when it comes time to pay, they will cite various excuses for not paying. They attempt to get away with this because the number of legitimate online casinos who can accept USA based players has greatly diminished meaning it's easier for them to attract and rip-off new US players.
Given online casinos current legal situation it is more important than ever for USA online gamblers to be very careful which casinos they choose. We recommend that players spend adequate time researching online gaming forums and casino review websites and ask questions about which casinos are reputable and honest.
If you have any concerns, be sure to email the online casino and ask them to provide in writing their policy on allowing persons from your state/region to gamble online. Spending a few minutes doing some due diligence on a prospective online casino can save you a great deal of time, money and frustration.
As an added measure of protection, American citizens who spend a great deal of time and money gambling online should seriously consider setting up an offshore bank account that is used specifically for online gaming purposes.
Kevin 11 is a successful online gaming webmaster and publisher of articles such as http://videogames.netscape.com/story/2007/09/01/internet-blackjack-the-basics, href="http://videogames.netscape.com/story/2007/08/22/online-slots-players/, href="http://videogames.netscape.com/story/2007/09/02/10-best-online-casinos/, and more.