Supervision and Regulation Letters

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve Board), has issued the attached interagency guidance for reviewing compliance by supervised financial institutions with the final rule implementing the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA).

The final rule implementing UIGEA was issued jointly in a Federal Register notice by the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) and the Federal Reserve Board.¹ The rule is codified at 12 CFR Part 233 (Federal Reserve Board) and 31 CFR Part 132 (Treasury). The compliance date for the final rule is June 1, 2010.

The interagency examination guidance includes an overview of the final rule under UIGEA, applicable exemptions, and non-exclusive safe harbors for compliance. Appendix A of the overview is a summary chart of the obligations of non-exempt participants in payment systems designated by the final rule. Appendix B is the interagency UIGEA examination procedures. This examination guidance is issued on a stand-alone basis. Examiners should conduct UIGEA compliance reviews using a risk-based approach. They may choose to combine UIGEA compliance reviews with other operational risk or compliance risk examinations; however, there is no requirement to integrate UIGEA compliance with other compliance or risk management measures (e.g., anti-money laundering or information technology programs or procedures).

Reserve Banks are asked to distribute this letter to financial institutions supervised by the Federal Reserve in their districts, as well as to their own supervisory and examination staff. Questions on the attached guidance may be addressed to Nina Nichols, Assistant Director, Compliance Risk, at 202-452-2961 or Bradley J. Beytien, Manager, Operational and IT Risk, at 202-452-3759. In addition, questions may be sent via the Board’s public website.²