GameAccount Abandons U.S. Market

Published: Friday, November 17, 2006 Online-Casinos.com

ONLINE SKILL GAMES SUPPLIER ABANDONS U.S. MARKET

It all turns on the phrase "games, subject to chance"

Any thoughts that skill gaming may circumvent the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act will probably be up for reconsideration following a decision this week by the UK skill games provider GameAccount to turn away from the US market.

GameAccount, arguably the world's largest provider of person-to-person (P2P) skill games, and winner of the 2006 eGaming Review Award for Innovation, confirmed that it has complied with both the letter and spirit of the UIGEA signed into law on 13 October 2006.

TheGameAccount statement points out that UIGEA specifically legislates for "games, subject to chance" and makes no attempt to carve-out or exclude skill-based contests or skill-based competition gaming, unlike the specific and detailed carve-out provided for Fantasy Sports.

Emphasising that in taking this difficult decision, after careful consideration and advice from in-house and external legal counsel, GameAccount says it is protecting the interests of licensee sportsbook partners, shareholders and directors from the very real threat of prosecution or detention under the UIGEA.

Kevin Dale, CEO of GameAccount commented, "Skill-based online gaming is and will remain a grey area under the UIGEA until tested under federal US law. It is extremely hard to argue that games of skill, such as those provided by leading skill games operators, have zero element of chance influencing the outcome of real money tournaments. Closing access to US-resident real money players was a hard decision, but a sensible one."

Of the major skill-based gaming destination site operators, including King.com (formerly Midasplayer.com) and FUN Technologies Plc (operator of WorldWinner.com and Skilljam.com), GameAccount is the first to implement responsible measures against US resident players competing in skill-based competition tournaments. In common with other skill games companies GameAccount had developed partnerships with US facing firms which are being terminated.

In the course of the next few months US financial services institutions and online payment processors must comply with the terms of the UIGEA. This may include e-wallets such as PayPal and Neteller, which currently facilitate a significant proportion of cash deposits and withdrawals by US-resident skill-gamers.

Dale, stated, "To some extent the decision has been made for us as the source of fund transfers from the US dries up. But there's also a very fine line between games such as Gin Rummy, Bejeweled and Poker - and it's an orange suit and manacles that you can look forward to if you decide to test the DOJ's interpretation of skill vs chance gaming."