Ever since the UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) was passed by the United States Congress a few years back, the online casino industry’s been in a bit of a funk with literally billions of potential dollars frozen like a strawberry margarita at the Luxor (do they serve strawberry margaritas?  I’m on a  roll, let’s keep going….)  However, led by Congressman Barney Frank and a group of forward-thinking online casino fans, the crusade to repeal this ban has been gaining steam, leading casino games junkies to feel something changing on the horizon.

Just last year, online gambling software giant Microgaming shook things up with the option to customize your online casino experience and other companies like Betboo are following suit.  With ipods, Hulu, and video on demand, this is the “gimme what I want when I want it” generation and online casinos are following suit.

With Halloween having just passed, we saw many online gambling sites offer special Halloween themes and bonuses and each passing year brings more unique casino themes for every niche and interest, be it movies, cities, or music.

If….WHEN….the UIGEA is repealed, it’s certain that new online gambling sites will come out of the woodwork from the American market, unleashing tons of new themes and motifs.  It’s something to be excited about.  Are you listening, Fergie?

And this wasn’t the first raid on the online gambling world either. Raids like this happened nine times…NINE TIMES (intentional Ferris Bueller reference)…over the summer alone. Sources at Wachovia claim that they’re not the only target; apparently accounts have also been frozen at other banks including Bank of America, First Premier, and Interstate Net Bank.

What’s all the fuss about? Once again, it’s the online casino/online gambling ban in the US, thanks to the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA), otherwise known as the act that is a big waste of time and takes away $59.9 bajillion of potential tax monies from the country. I was hoping that under a new administration, the government might loosen up a little bit but it looks like my hopes will not be realized any time soon.

Still, it’s not stopping people like Barney Frank, US congressman from Massachusetts, from drumming up supporters for his online gambling legislation. With the Democrats now in power in Congress, perhaps Mr. Frank can finally make some change, giving all of us online casino buffs a bit of a break.

Since 2006, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) has created an effective ban on online gambling for customers within the United States. While it’s not actually against the law for individuals, most major credit cards and payment processors have decided to not make transactions between gamblers and online casinos. American Express….Visa….you name it. If you want to transfer $100 to your favorite online poker site using Paypal, you’re out of luck. What’s an aspiring World Series of Poker champion to do?

Well….here’s a great new development in the online casino world. 900Pay is a service which allows you to transfer money to an online gambling site through your land line. That’s right, I said land line. (Teenagers, once upon a time, there were no cell phones. I know, it’s shocking. I’ll give you a moment to resume breathing.) The transaction doesn’t even involved a credit card or bank account, it simply requires a phone call to a 900 number and puts the the transaction charge on your phone bill. Somewhere up above, Alexander Graham Bell is smiling.

Thanks to payment processor eWalletXpress, the company pulling the strings from behind the scenes, this feature is already available on a handful of online casino sites and, as it goes without saying, is both safe and secure for customers.

No hidden fees, no long-distance charges, totally free, aside from the $25-50 deposit into your account of course. When you want to withdraw your winnings, you’re issued a bank draft. It’s that simple.

So there you go. Easy as pie. So if you still have a land line, let the fun begin. Unless it’s a rotary phone with a dial. Then we really need to talk.