Is Online Casino Wagering Legal in the U.S.?
17 October 2005

As it currently stands, it is illegal for any American citizen or company to operate an online casino, poker site, or any other internet gambling organization. However, according to Tony Cabot, a Las Vegas attorney, there still is no official ban against Internet gambling should American players wish to wager their money at online casinos, poker rooms, sportsbooks, etc. Basically, as long as the headquarters for an online gambling operation is not on U.S. soil, it is not considered illegal for these companies to except wagers from Americans.
 
Interestingly enough, the federal government believes that online gambling violates the anti-gambling laws that were created decades ago. For instance, one such law is the Wire Act of 1961, which is for all gambling across state lines. Cabot explains that no states, including those that have strict laws for gaming, have regulations that cover online gambling.

While many individuals involved in the online gaming industry would like to see the U.S. Congress clarify the provisions of the Wire Act, according to Cabot and a slew of other internet gaming industry observers, they don’t believe the American Government will be doing anything in the near future to put a stop to internet gambling.

In fact, only last month, Arizona Republican John Kyl, tried to have the U.S. senate pass a bill that would stop credit card companies and banks from processing transactions that occur from online gambling sites. Kyl’s efforts were lost, however, as the senate quickly turned down his idea.
While the U.S. continues to ride the fence when it comes to the online gambling issue, no one can deny how popular online wagering has become. In fact, currently the word “Poker” is one of the top 3 keywords that are typed into search engines. Thus, without a doubt it is one of the most popular topics out there.

Therefore, even though the U.S. still hasn’t clarified its laws when it comes to Internet gambling, the rest of the world has certainly found its niche on the internet, and will continue to grow and improve on this multi-billion dollar industry.