iMEGA, the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association, has finally been assigned a date to argue its case against the UIGEA. Come July 6th, 2009, the group will present its plea to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Mary L. Cooper granted iMEGA the right to appear before the court in March, and now an official date has been set. While the court does have the option to change the date of the hearing, it must happen within the week of July 6th.

After all of the hoopla surrounding the UIGEA and the continuous efforts of many groups and individuals to sway Congressmen that poker is a game of skill, and the obvious revenue that the US has lost to overseas gambling, the day of regulation is sure to come.

Rep. Barney Frank has diligently argued in favor of the legalization of online gambling and the repeal of the UIGEA and believes, like many others, that it is an infringement on the constitutional rights of American citizens to deny them the right to gamble online if they so choose. While gambling at casinos in certain jurisdictions is perfectly legal, there is no argument for those who try to say that online gambling is harmful to society when it is already a part of society. The main reason that the online gambling industry was ever thwarted to begin with is the money that has been lost by land-based casinos thanks to online casinos and poker rooms.

Now with the increasing losses in possible taxation and revenue from online gambling, Congress and even land-based gambling institutions have realized the detrimental need to regulate the industry in a country that is believed to be the biggest market for online gambling in the world.

Rep. Frank has announced many times that he plans on proposing new legislation to Congress that would revoke the UIGEA and work towards legalization and regulation of online gambling. The July 6th date is one more step towards what so many Americans have been pushing for.