There’s no U.S. federal law against gambling online
There’s no U.S. federal law against gaming online. At the national level, betting online is perfectly legal, due to the lack of a law against it. It’s possible to run afoul of state law (notably in extremely conservative countries ), however even there prosecution is very uncommon, and penalties are usually slight.
U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway confessed in a House hearing that just placing wagers online does not violate federal law. No American has ever been arrested, indicted, or prosecuted by the feds for gaming online, since there’s no law against it. If online gambling were illegal I wouldn’t be running his website for nineteen years, as an American citizen, living in the U.S., using my actual name. And I sometimes gamble online, also, and I admit that openly, like I am doing at this time.
This might be confusing as the other outlets erroneously noted that Congress banned online gaming in 2006. These reports are simply wrong. The 2006 law makes it illegal for banks to move betting money once the stakes are already illegal (including from a country law), but does not ensure it is illegal for gamers to create stakes. The legislation simply does not make or extend any ban on gaming itself. In reality, the legislation states quite clearly,”No provision of this subchapter shall be construed as altering, limiting, or expanding any Federal or State legislation or Tribal-State compact banning, permitting, or regulating gaming within the United States.” You can see for yourself by checking out the full text of this law.
While you do not violate any federal laws from putting bets online, it is not legal to conduct a gaming operation (i.e., to take bets), except in those few states where it is explicitly legal and the operator is licensed. Therefore don’t believe you can start an online casino or operate Facebook raffles.
And yes, the FBI published a frightening warning online in which they claimed that placing bets on the internet is against law. In summary, they whined, and the DoJ eventually reversed that place anyway. (more on that)
States where online gambling is explicitly legal
Not many countries have specific laws against online gambling, although many have laws against gaming in general, which apply equally to offline and online gambling. A little handful of states have explicitly legalized online gaming, provided that you perform one of the couple of approved online casinos. In some states, only certain kinds of gambling may be lawful (e.g., poker). The countries which have legalized at least some Kind of Internet gambling are:
Delaware became the first state to legalize online gambling, in June 2012, and the third to launch (Nov. 26, 2013). (USA Today, Delaware Online, Casino.org)
Nevada became the first state to legalize online gaming (well, poker ), on Feb. 21, 2013 (CBS) and launching on April 30. (LVRJ)
New Jersey became the third state to legalize online gaming (poker + casino), signed into law in February 2013, and launching on Nov. 25th. (NJ Poker Online)
Be aware that Bovada won’t accept players from these countries, nor will they accept players from Maryland or New York.
The District of Colmbia became the first jurisdiction to legalize online gambling in the U.S., in April 2011. On the other hand, the measure was repealed in February 2012 until it ever became active. (NY Times)
State violations of gambling are usually misdemeanors
Even when countries don’t permit players to gamble, the penalties are always light. The only nations where easy gaming is a felony are the two Washingtons: Washington, DC, and Washington state. (origin ) In many states easy gaming is merely a misdemeanor, and in Arkansas and Colorado it is a straightforward petty offense, like a traffic ticket. (source)
States with an online gaming prohibition
Even states that prohibit gambling generally usually don’t have a particular ban on online gaming. When it’s against the law to bet on your nation, that applies online and offline, even if the law doesn’t mention online. But a couple of states do specifically outlaw online gambling. Those states are:
Illinois
Indiana
Louisiana
Montana
Nevada (go figure)
Oregon
South Dakota
Washington
Wisconsin
Source: Gambling Law U.S.
Players convicted of breaking State legislation I know of only two instances where a participant ran afoul of state legislation (in exceptionally conservative states), both of whom were billed under their nation’s general anti-gambling legislation, no specific anti-online-gambling law:
North Dakota. Jeffrey Trauman paid a $500 fine on what was likely over $100,000 in online sports bet winnings, in 2003. (Betting & the Law)
Oklahoma. Online sports bettor Roland Benavides was billed in 2011 and at 2012 received a deferred sentence (meaning that if he doesn’t violate the terms of his probation, he will likely face no jail time). (Information OK)
Kentucky seized domains A Kentucky judge agreed to let Kentucky capture 141 gambling-related domains, on the spurious grounds that a domain name constituted a”gambling device” under regulations. But even if it had been clear that gambling domains violated Kentucky law, the seizure was still absurd, due to that logic any country could seize any domain anywhere in the world if the website happened to violate its local law. In any case, as FlushDraw said,”Only a few of US-based registrars complied, and the seizures themselves were rendered somewhat moot when nearly all of the affected domains relocated to non-US registrar services and ceased using”.com” domains.”
The Kentucky Court of Appeals promptly chased the seizure action, but then the State appealed. I couldn’t find any upgrades between 2014-2018 (EFF 2008, KY appealed in 2009, 2014 ruling)
Taking bets is prohibited It’s always been contrary to federal law to take sports bets over the Internet (not to create them). In other words, you can’t establish a site and take sports bets from the public. The law which prohibits this is known as the Wire Act. For years the feds stated that the Wire Act applied to taking poker and casino stakes too. Then in 2011 they reversed themselves and stated the Wire Act applied only to sports. (Forbes) Subsequently in 2019 they reversed themselves again and returned to the previous position that the Wire Act actually applies to accepting casino and poker bets as well. (origin ) Though again, placing bets stays perfectly legal under national law. The challenge would be finding a respectable place to play. Due to the legal problems, there are not many operators serving the whole U.S., and many of those which do are kind of sketchy. That’s why I advertise only Bovada on this site, because they’re the best one for U.S. players.
States can now offer sports betting In May 2018, the Supreme Court overturned a law which prohibited sports gambling in most countries but Nevada. This allows individual states to legalize sports gambling should they opt to do so. On the other hand, the court’s ruling does not talk to the Wire Act, therefore online sportsbooks still violate federal law (for the operator, not the player). (Forbes)
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