Despite the federal government’s best efforts, the US remains a hostile territory for online gaming. Although many nations in the Caribbean and other parts of the globe have legalized Internet gambling, the US has yet to embrace the trend. In fact, the US government has been largely stifling the industry and blocking online gambling sites from displaying their ads.
While the Internet gambling industry may have surpassed traditional brick and mortar casinos in recent years, the law hasn’t caught up. However, there are a number of states that have begun to legalize Internet gambling. These states are: Arizona, Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
Some states have legalized the practice of betting on sporting events, while others have banned it completely. However, the states that have legalized Internet gambling are also the states that have the best sites to play at. Most online casinos offer a variety of deposit options, so you’ll have a number of ways to pay for your wager. Using the Internet to place a wager also allows you to avoid the hassle of traveling to a brick and mortar casino.
The US Department of Justice tried to interpret the Interstate Wire Act as extending to all forms of Internet gambling. However, a court found that this was not the case. However, the Department did manage to come up with a more practical solution to the problem, which is to allow individual states to pass their own legislation on the topic. It was in April 2007 that Congressman Barney Frank introduced HR 2046, a bill that would make the UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) more user-friendly and nudge states toward decriminalization.
However, while the UIGEA was an improvement over the previous law, it was the aforementioned goodlatte and Kyl bills that actually triggered the most changes. In particular, the Goodlatte bill would have limited online gambling activities to horse races, and the Kyl bill would have only limited the types of gambling activities allowed to be conducted on the Internet.
The most exciting development regarding legal online gambling came in 2010, when the US Department of Justice decided to allow states to pass their own legislation on the topic. However, the Department of Justice’s decision to allow states to legalize online gambling didn’t come without its fair share of controversy. A number of people complained that the Department’s action had no legal basis. Others argued that the move was a publicity stunt meant to boost the morale of Congress members.
Although the Internet gambling industry has come a long way since its inception, it still has a long way to go. For example, a Frost & Sullivan report found that the Internet gambling industry had revenues of more than $830 million in 1998.
The most important part of legalizing Internet gambling is to ensure that the right laws are in place to keep the industry functioning in a safe and responsible manner. This includes requiring a license from the gambling service providers to advertise their products. Also, each state has a right to regulate the industry. It is also important to remember that although it may be legal in one state, it may be illegal in another. For example, in Washington, online gambling sites are not permitted to advertise their products.
