UIGEA hearing scheduled Dec. 3

With less than a week before the U.S. financial services industry must come into full compliance with regulations contained in the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, there is suddenly a glimmer of hope for the future of online poker in the United States.

According to the House Financial Services Committee website, a full committee hearing on two bills designed to regulate and tax online gambling in the US and delay UIGEA enforcement will be held Dec. 3.

House Financial Services Committee chairman Barney Frank, a longtime proponent of legalized online poker, unveiled both bills this past May.

HR 2266 is designed to delay UIGEA compliance until December 2010 while HR 2267 seeks to render the act moot by establishing a federal regulatory and enforcement framework to license Internet gambling operators, including online poker sites, in the United States.

The hearing will be held Dec. 3 at 10 a.m. ET in the Committee's Rayburn House Office Building and interested members of the public can watch a live webcast through the Committee's website.

In the meantime, UIGEA regulations come into effect next Tuesday Dec. 1 forcing financial institutions in the U.S. to stop processing any transactions related to online gambling.