online gambling

The modern digital world makes it very easy to access hundreds of different online gambling sites. The problem is that while many businesses advertise to the US market it is difficult to know whether they are legal, or if you are legally allowed to bet with them.

Thanks to federal vs. state law it’s not even clear whether online gambling is okay in the state where you live.

As always, the answer to which states have legalized online gambling is not clear cut. There are several states that have introduced legislation relating to specific online gambling acts:

You won’t be surprised to find that Nevada, the home of Las Vegas has implemented gambling laws, allowing online poker, although it doesn’t yet allow other forms of online gambling.

  • Delaware

Although this state was the third one to launch online gambling it was actually the first one to create regulations legalizing this type of betting activity, as long ago as 2012.

  • New Jersey

In 2013 New Jersey legalized online gambling, with the first site launching late in the same year. Unlike Nevada, it allows poker and online casinos.

It is worth noting that Colombia actually created the legislation in 2011 to legalize online gambling but the legislation was repealed before any site was launched.

The Offshore Option

Many operators based outside of the US make false representations that will make you feel comfortable and legal using their services. In fact, many of these sites cannot be trusted and are not trading legally in the US.

The bottom line is that you are legally allowed to undertake online gambling but not all companies are allowed to offer online gambling. To ensure you use a trustworthy site you should take a look at this website if you want to bet offshore.

This will help you to understand how complex the subject of online gambling is and the importance of using sites that are properly regulated and licensed.

It is worth noting that Washington and Connecticut have laws prohibiting all online gambling, whether the company is based in the US or not. The other states have not created specific legislation to cover online gambling, leaving it legal under federal law to participate in online gambling.

The fact that most of the sites you’ll look at is because the regulations around trading in the US as a US based company are extremely restrictive, it’s much easier for businesses to trade from overseas.

Prosecutions

It is worth noting that prosecutions are extremely rare, even in those states that specifically prohibit online gambling.

The few cases that have been prosecuted have resulted in very low fines or deferred prison sentences. Perhaps most interesting is that the people involved were prosecuted under general gambling laws, not online specific ones.

Whichever way you look at it, caution and knowing which sites are trustworthy, is definitely the right approach when deciding which online gambling firm to use.

Don’t forget, if you’re new to online gambling always practice with the play money and only ever gamble with money you can afford to lose.