Speaking on behalf of Senator Frist, Caroline Weyforth, his press secretary, said: “It is succeeding. Internet gambling was illegal and people were ignoring that fact, all this bill did was put a mechanism in place to enforce existing laws.”

The new law has already caused the exodus of many of the world’s biggest online gambling firms, such as PartyGaming and 888.com. The ensuing panic meant billions were wiped of the value of publicly listed online gaming companies, meaning thousands of shareholders lost money.

“It’s unfortunate that stocks went down,” said Weyforth, “but at the same time those companies were fragrantly ignoring our (country’s) laws.”

Weyforth didn’t comment specifically on companies such as PokerStars and Bodog, which are continuing to operate in the US, but she pointed out that it was not unexpected.

“Internet gambling (was) illegal and they found a way around it. We’ve stopped that, (but) no-one would be surprised if they found another way around it. However, the bottom line is that it is illegal, and now there is a mechanism in place to enforce that.”