US Congress has taken another step in relation to the online gambling that maybe make those who play online a little bit happier than the players were before. Congressmen passed a bill relieving life of US financial institutions concerning the online gambling ban. The House Committee on Financial Services approved The Payments System Protection Act. And now the Federal Reserve and the Department of the Treasury will work together with the Attorney General in order to appoint an Administrative Law Judge, the aim of this all is to define what are unlawful internet gambling activities and what are not. They will conduct an economic study on compliance costs. After this bill had been passed the implementation of regulations for the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act were delayed. It means the regulations will not put into force till it is clear what are legal online transactions.

Congress also approved an amendment to the bill which obliges federal regulators to issue the latest regulations to financial institutions within 60 days of enactment. The amendment blocks all online gambling bets for a while excluding the bets put on dog and horse races, and jai-lai games. The Department of Treasury will also be required to make a list of all illegal sports operators and sites to the bank and other institutions for consultation till the economic impact study and definition of lawful internet transactions are created. Chairman Barney Frank introduced the legislation and the amendment to Congress.

The bill was made in response to the concerns raised by the financial institutions. After transactions made online are defined, the banks will be able to monitor more closely what their clients are doing.