Now imagine that delivery of your treasure was blocked because the financial firm handling the electronic funds transfer from the offshore gaming site figured out that Dare Ghosta Morgue Age Pain Mint Casino.Com and Read Tire Venure Ninety Gambling.Com are both sites engaged in Internet gambling.  As a result, the transfer of your treasure is blocked.  That’s right, you do not pass “Go” and collect $2 million, because the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (“Act”) prohibits these types of transactions.

According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Act has the effect of prohibiting gambling businesses from knowingly accepting payments in connection with unlawful Internet gambling, including payments made through credit cards, electronic funds transfers, and checks.  Moreover (and most relevant to my example above), the recently-published final rule to the Act requires certain financial firms to establish and implement policies and procedures designed to prevent transactions in connection with unlawful Internet gambling. 

 
So let's apply this to the real world: online gaming sites often ignore the Act's prohibitions—usually because they're offshore, and feel immune from U.S. jurisdiction.  (Brad's note: I agree—they definitely feel like they're immune.  In truth, they're usually not immune from U.S. jurisdiction—but that's the subject of another blog article...) 

Once the site has taken your money, there’s a chance that you won’t ever see it again (even if you win) because, pursuant to the Act, the financial firm that processes your transaction could prevent your money from coming back to the United States.