Because it is nearly impossible to ban actual web sites, which can be easily moved around the internet, the law targets the payment processing systems (bank credit cards, PayPal, etc) that make the internet economy work. The law makes banks evaluate your personal charges and block transactions which involve activity in these two areas. As Congressman Ron Paul testified in April,

"The regulations and underlying bill also force financial institutions to act as law enforcement officers. This is another pernicious trend that has accelerated in the aftermath of the Patriot Act, the deputization of private businesses to perform intrusive enforcement and surveillance functions that the federal government is unwilling to perform on its own."

To be clear, banks to not want this new burden. They bear liability under this new regime, and as a result will be very conservative when it comes to determining what types of web sites should be blocked under the regulations. Already, the U.S. Attorney's office has extracted tens of millions of dollars in fines through online gaming and related enforcement activities. For example, when eBay acquired PayPal in 2003, the company had to pay a $10 million fine to settle online gambling charges. And that was before the passage of the 2006 act substantially raised the stakes for the banking industry.

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Further, these skill-based online activities will not only be banned for consenting U.S. adults, but for users accessing U.S. sites from anywhere in the world. Again, it does not matter if the “game of skill” is legal or not in the user's local jurisdiction. Federal law, as implemented by these new regulations, will make it illegal, and the feds are empowering your bank to analyze and block any offending transactions.