The enforcement of the UIGEA seems to be the theme of 2009 for federal agents. Starting in July, the feds seized the funds of Fulltilt and Pokerstars players, who lost millions to these seizures. August wasn’t a good month for the gambling world either; this time the target was casinos instead of poker rooms, with the latest seizure coming from Maryland.
The Maryland branch of the U.S. District Court’s Magistrate Judge Paul Grimm signed the latest warrant, using “money laundering” as the justification behind all of the seizures so far.

As in all of the seizures, the online gambling companies are losing the winnings that were supposed to go to winning players. Fortunately, most of these casinos will be able to recover and repay players who have lost winnings. So in the end, the government’s actions seem to be a scare tactic for gamblers. Should the government’s actions continue, the federal agencies that enforce these actions could back these casinos into a corner and ultimately out of the country for good.

Due to the current legislation that’s trying to help legalize online gambling, and with new partnerships of one of the largest United State casino operators and the world’s largest purveyors of online gambling, the legislation could push online gaming at a lightning fast rate. As of now players, can only sit and wait for their funds to be redistributed or contact their representation in Congress, in hopes it will all work out.