The Legality Behind Online Gambling

//The Legality Behind Online Gambling

As it stands, no United States federal laws are in in place in banning online gambling. In regards to the federal level of U.S. laws, online gambling is perfectly legal since no laws are in place against the act of internet gambling in the states. While it is possible to run into state law issues if the law is particularly conservative, even then it is a rare occurrence to be prosecuted. If you are concerned that your state may hold individual laws that strictly prohibit gambling online, then it would be wise to look into the matter through your own research. As of this time, it’s been officially clarified by U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway, during a House hearing, that online wager placing is not breaking any federal laws.

Not a single U.S. citizen has been prosecuted, indicted, or arrested due to online gambling by the feds. There are plenty of people who gamble online and have their names publicly attached to their gambling habits and they have yet to see any repercussion for indulging in such a past time. While this might be confusing to some, who believe online gambling was banned by congress back in 2006, that information is false. The truth behind that rumor is that a law was passed against banks to deal with the money in regards to bets that are considered illegal, such as on a state law level – not federally. This law does not apply to the gamblers themselves, so long as they are not breaking any of their local state laws. An excerpt from that passed law is as follows: “No provision of this subchapter shall be construed as altering, limiting, or extending any Federal or State law or Tribal-State compact prohibiting, permitting, or regulating gambling within the United States.”

In the Case of Online Casino Operators

Due to the Wire Wager Act, owning and operating an online casino can be made difficult and it’s a bit of a grey area in the realm of federal law. Naturally, if state law prohibits anything gambling related, then owning and operating an online casino within that state would be in violation of that law. Even if you are technically only targeting those players who are located out of country. So long as your base of operations is violating the area in which it is situated, you may face prosecution. That is why many online casinos, such as gclub, choose to operate and run their casino in offshore locations.

On the other hand, just when is it considered illegal to own and operate an online casino in the states that don’t have state laws against them? That’s when it gets tricky. Due to the red tape created by the Wire Wager Act, making it difficult to make digital transactions of any sort through banks for betting related transactions, online casino owners who do own and operate within the U.S. have had to discover alternative means to transfer their money to and from visitors to their sites. It’s become quite the murky business to maneuver and those who do undertake such a business must keep in mind what will and will not work legally at all times.

 

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