Two popular Miami ships have ceased operations now that local officials have negotiated with existing dog and horse racing tracks to permit them to open on-shore casinos rather than sailing three miles out into international waters where the law allowed unrestricted casino gambling.

And now the Seminole Tribe of Florida has expanded the Hard Rock Casino operation in Broward countyAquasino and Horizon’s Edge are back in dry dock now that casino gamblers often choose land-based casinos offering unlimited access to restaurants, bars, nightclubs and the chance to come and go much more quickly than it takes to dock and disembark.Investors are currently pouring millions of dollars into the expansion of the Gulfstream Racetrack and Mardi Gras Dog Track Casino properties to create near-Vegas casino experiences. In a matter of days, card games like Blackjackand Baccarat will be added to the very lucrative poker rooms in the city.

On 22 June, The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino opened 71 new card tables including 55 card tables dedicated to Blackjack. The rest are distributed among mini-baccarat, pai gow, Let It Ride and Three Card Poker.With millions of dollars pouring into lotto games, parimutuel betting and legalized games of chance, limited interest in gambling vessels shipwrecked the business.

The House Committee on Financial Services continued hearings today on Online gambling and the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA).There were representatives from the United States Federal Reserve System, the US Treasury Department, American Bankers Association plus many more who testified today, mostly about the problems of the UIGEA, how it is unenforceable and all of the problems that were associated with.The AP, New York Times, Washington Post and other big media outlets along with several gambling sites all reported the story and most all had the same theme that a prohibition on Internet Gambling is not working.

Louise Roseman who is the head of the Federal Reserve’s bank operations testified that the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act is to vague and does not give the banks clear direction of what is an illegal gambling transaction.Joshua McCarthy of Online Casino Advisory reported headlined with this “Congressional Hearing Finds Unanimous Disapproval of UIGEA.” They went on to quote Louise Roseman as saying “the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act is so poorly written, actual enforcement of the law against online gambling is problematic at best. “The challenge we have is interpreting something, particularly federal laws, that Congress itself isn’t sure what they mean.”

The website Gambling911 called Prohibition on Internet Gambling a Failure. They quoted Wayne Abernathy of the American Bankers Association’s executive vice president of financial institutions policy and regulatory affairs as saying, “The path leads to an increased cost and administrative burden to the banks and an erosion in the performance of the payments system, but it will not result in stopping illegal Internet gambling transactions.”

The online website Casino Gambling Web said “Online Gambling Ban Regs Get Ripped Apart at House Hearing” and also quoted Wells Fargo spokesperson Ted Kitada as testifying that “his company completes more than 30 million transactions a day and deciphering which of those 30 million transactions would be illegal Internet gambling transactions would be not only cumbersome, but also a major hindrance to thequality of service his company offers its customers.”Barney Frank who last year introduced H.R. 2046, the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act of 2007 which would allow US residents to legally bet online by way of an exemption to properly licensed operators was also critical of the UIGEA once again. Frank called the bill “a bizarre piece of legislation”The news has been more positive for the future of online gambling in recent weeks.

The iMEGA group who had sued the United States government was reported to be very satisfied with a recent Judge’s ruling giving the group legal standing to challenge the law in an appellate court. Last month Professor I. Nelson Rose discussed how the United States was becoming more and more isolated in the world and how other countries such as the U.K. decided that internet gambling was acceptable if regulated.