One of the United States’ largest and most effective watchdog groups, American Watchdog, recently released the findings of a ten-month investigation to evaluate how US banks were dealing with the restrictions imposed on them under the new Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. The Act was signed into law by President Bush last year and made it illegal for American banks and financial institutions to transfer money to and from offshore gambling companies.

The results of the report, entitled “Involvement of US Banks and Major US Credit Card Issuers in Internet Gambling” show, however, that some of the United States’ top banks continue to defy these guidelines and still fund offshore gambling activities, despite the ban. Four offshore casinos were used in the investigation and were shown to be regularly accepting payment by US players and allowing them to access their sites. The UIGEA has been in effect since October, 2006.