The laws in the United States involving online gambling can be unclear, confusing, and maybe even scary. I'm here to lay out the truth and dispel common misconceptions on this topic. Note that this specifically is about the United States. I am unsure about foreign laws but I think Europe is actually more lax on online gambling than the United States.
Is Online Gambling Legal?
The short answer is: yes.
In 2006, the United States government passed the "Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act." This has often been cited as the law that banned online gambling in the United States. This is not true. The law prohibits online casinos from taking bets. However, this does not prohibit civilians from placing bets online. There aren't any online American casinos that take American bets. However, there are many offshore and foreign online casinos that do not fall under this jurisdiction. It is perfectly legal for you to open an account, deposit money, and place bets on these accounts. This is true for whatever form of gambling you are interested in: pit games, sports betting, poker, etc.
As far as in-person sports betting goes, it is currently only legal in Nevada, Oregon, Delaware, and Montana. But, the Supreme Court is currently ruling on whether or not to allow sports betting in casinos in New Jersey. In case anyone is wondering if they could call in to a casino in a legal state and place a bet with the book, this is now allowed. This was banned in the Federal Wire Act, which banned casinos from taking bets over the phone. Thanks for reading, and be sure to leave a comment if you have any questions or comment and any requests for a next post. I think next I'm going to post about the basics of sports betting and a review of various online sportsbooks.