It has been recently reported that customers that have attempted to purchase lottery tickets online are now having their credit cards rejected. The reason is due to the implementation of the UIGEA. According to the New Hampshire Union Ledger, customers that try to purchase Powerball and Tri-State Megabucks are having their cards declined for the purchase.

Rick Wisler, the NH State Lottery Executive Director, stated, “We could end up losing some significant revenue from this. It can amount to a million dollars a year or more to the Lottery if credit cards are not allowed.” He also stated that they were “caught in the cross-hairs of over-regulation.”

The UIGEA went into effect officially on January 19th of this year. Many banks are chosing to block any transaction that is coded as gambling in order to save any headache regarding the UIGEA. Lotteries are supposed to be exempt from the policy, but as in the case of the NH lottery, this does not appear to be the case.

The UIGEA is supposed to put restrictions on banks and financial institutions regarding various forms of gambling. Poker lobbyists are trying to get poker an exemption like the one that state lotteries have received.

Many websites have dropped out of the US market due to the UIGEA regulations. Other sites such as PokerStars.com and Full Tilt Poker have continued operations.

Poker has been ruled a game of skill in Pennsylvania. A case against a small-stakes home game was recently dismissed when the judge ruled that poker is a game of skill. Columbia County Judge Thomas James stated that, “The Court finds that Texas hold’em poker is a game where skill predominates over chance. Thus, is it not ‘unlawful gambling’ under the Pennsylvania Code.” This ruling only applied to Columbia and Montour counties, which is the jurisdiction of Judge James.

The original case charged two people with unlawful gaming for running a $1-$2 NL Holdem game in their garage. Rake was not taken, but tipping the dealer was encouraged. State police investigated the game by sending undercover officers to the game approximately 20 times.

The attorney for the two defendants, Pete Campana, stated “I’ve seen poker players of all calibers; there’s no question in my mind that skill controls poker more than luck of the draw.” John Pappas, executive director of the Poker Players Alliance stated, “The judge in this case issued a well-researched and reasoned decision which supports arguments the PPA and others have made about poker being a game of predominant skill. The decision does not have legal precedent outside the two rural counties in Pennsylvania, however, it is a significant victory in the overall battle to demonstrate that poker is not pure chance gambling. The PPA hopes to leverage this win in other trials in other states where we have an opportunity to argue the skill of poker.”

This case is being viewed as a potential stepping stone for getting online poker ruled as a game of skill. A ruling of poker being a game of skill would go a long way in getting the UIGEA overturned or an exclusion to online poker granted to exclude it from the UIGEA.

PokerStars has recently singed actor Jason Alexander to represent the site as a celebrity spokesman. His job will be to promote PokerStars at various tournaments around the world, including the 2009 World Series of Poker.

About the signing, Alexander said, “PokerStars has very graciously asked me to sign on as one of their official players. I am very flattered and happy to be playing for a real quality site and with the kind of professionals that remind me every day how truly mediocre I am at this game. But I’m learning. And now I can learn from some of the best.”

Alexander is not the only celebrity to play for PokerStars. Former L.A. Dodger Orel Hershiser, NHL Star Mats Sundin, and former tennis star Boris Becker are all members of what has been touted PokerStars’ team of “international celebrity ambassadors.”

J. Alexander will be the moniker to look for on the website. Alexander is probably most well known to fans of televised poker via his many appearances on the now defunct Celebrity Poker Showdown.