One of the reasons the United States cited in support of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act is that the online casinos were involved with terrorist funding. Under the terms of the new legislation, financial institutions are forbidden to process transaction between a U.S. player and a gambling company.  The number of young under-age people gambling and a possible link to terrorism are the reasons given in support of the legislation. It is believed that many U.S. brick and mortar establishments have avoided the internet due to concerns over the Patriot Act and the concern with terrorism.

Online gambling is viewed as a way for terrorist groups to earn, if they own an online casino gambling, or to launder money.   The U.S. government is trying to link online gambling to terrorism and has been trying to do so since the September 11 attacks.  This is the view of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.  Since the enactment of the new legislation in October 2006, there have been several arrests of online gambling entities who were on U.S. soil and a number of subpoenas served to the underwriters of various gambling companies’ stock offerings.

Is online gambling really a terrorist front?  It depends on who you want to believe.  Some critics say the U.S. government is using the terrorist argument as a smokescreen to curb the flow of money from the U.S. due to online gambling. So far, no conclusive proof has been announced that there is a link between online gambling and terrorism.