Therefore, gambling laws can differ greatly between states. Active Federal Laws And Regulations In The United States That Affect Online Gambling. The United States maintains several significant federal gambling laws that greatly affect how gambling is regulated and permitted throughout the nation. Dec 12, 2018 The longer version: You cannot legally place bets on any website (or use an out-of-state or overseas account) if you are physically placing the bet online in a state which bars online gambling. This applies to both international and interstate online betting. For example, Delaware has legal online gambling; neighboring Maryland does not. Legal Online Gambling in the United States 2020. Although the federal government has its own set of laws governing the legality of gambling activities, most states have their own legislation for age limits to whether having a friendly neighborhood poker game is allowed.
The American online gambling industry is, by any measurement, thriving. With so much attention turned toward the industry, lawmakers, gamblers, and simple observers have all been faced with one main question - is online gambling legal? This question is tough to answer due to the multi-faceted nature of the industry. With so many small hooks and details, it is incredibly difficult to come to any standard answer. Lawyers, law makers, the press and players all have their own opinions, but we are here not to make opinions - we are here to present the facts and give you real insight as to the actual legality of online gambling in the United States.
This page is dedicated to informing you about all of the facts and figures surrounding gambling legally online in the United States. The short answer is that there are legal ways to do so. The long answer is why, and what are the reasons and laws in place that make it such a complex issue. And it's not as if the laws and bans in place are permanent right now either. In fact, the fight on both sides of this issue, in which there are legitimate arguments for both, continues on even in Washington today. What rules are set now, could look quite different in a year or two. Or perhaps even sooner. Right now though, all we can give you is the most up-to-date information we have.
The legality of online gambling is a topic that is somewhat diverged due to the multi-faceted nature of the industry. With three major forms of gambling - online sports betting, poker and casinos - there are different laws governing each. Sports betting is the form of gambling that has received the most negative attention, and this stems from the age old battle against organized crime. Online poker has taken a similar degree of heat, though significantly less than sports betting, due to its widespread popularity. That leaves legal online casinos in something of a grey area, as no law has directly targeted casinos, nor will you ever hear about them specifically by the press.
In terms of federal law, there are two major points of contention. There is the Wire Act of 1961 and the more recent Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006, or the UIGEA. The courts have upheld the Wire Act in its relation to online gambling, and the UIGEA is a special case in terms of what has been made legal or illegal. Both laws have had some effect on the online gambling industry, though the extent of the damage is truly difficult to monitor.
The Wire Act may have been written prior to the true invention and commercialization of the Internet, but courts have deemed that it does apply to online sportsbooks as well due to the definition of a 'wire communication facility.' The text of the law says that these facilities are 'any and all instrumentalities, personnel, and services (among other things, the receipt, forwarding, or delivery of communications) used or useful in the transmission of writings, signs, pictures, and sounds of all kinds by aid of wire, cable, or other like connection between the points of origin and reception of such transmission.' Due to the nature of the law, the Internet has been said to follow the 'aid of wire, cable or other like connection,' excerpt of the text. This has effectively solidified the illegal status of operating sportsbooks that are based in the United States on the Internet.
The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act has caused some turmoil in the online gambling industry. The UIGEA was passed as part of the SAFE Port Act, a bill that had to do with securing the ports of the nation. The bill could not be stopped, so the UIGEA was passed into law. The biggest problem here in is that it did not actually illegalize online gambling. Rather it made processing payments related to online gambling illegal. This potential fall out of this bill caused many gambling companies to cease serving the United States market. Even some payment processors and e-wallets had ceased serving American gamblers. Using the UIGEA to bring money laundering charges against these gambling sites, the Department of Justice has brought several major gambling companies to their knees.
It has grown difficult to determine whether or not online gambling is legal due to these laws, but it is almost entirely safe to say that the player will not have to worry about being targeted by federal laws. These laws are in place to prevent a gambling business from operating, not to stop the player from gaming. Similar to the prohibition of alcohol, however, these businesses still operate and players are still able to participate in these games.
To further complicate the whole mess, the legal issue of online gambling has also come down to the individual states. The courts decided that each state could determine whether they would allow intrastate online gambling sites, effectively creating a structure for licensing to take place as it would a land based casino. More specifically, states would be allowed to establish online gambling sites that are fully licensed and regulated by the state's individual gaming control commission or board, and open these sites using geolocation services that would ensure that all players live within the borders of the state. This has not yet happened, but it is an option - an option that has not been taken advantage of.
On the state by state basis, there is some debate over whether or not existing state gambling laws spread out to cover online gambling. Since there are no gambling sites that are actually established and operating in the United States, it has become a very complicated question to answer. The states simply do not have the ability to govern a business that is established off shore, regardless of whether or not residents from said state are able to join. What the state can do, as in the case of Washington, Nevada and a few others, is impose criminal penalties against those who would join these sites.
In the end, it is a difficult question to answer. Is online gambling legal? On a federal level, online gambling is ostensibly legal for the player. Each state has the ability to criminalize online gambling, and a few already have - Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington and Wisconsin. On the other hand, Washington, D.C. has actually begun to launch their own gambling site, though some say that this will be short lived. In the end, it is entirely unlikely that you will ever be arrested for online gambling, but one thing is for certain - the industry is not regulated, and regulation is required for the games to be truly legal.
Supreme Court Rules 6-3 Against PASPA
PASPA, the most restrictive of the federal anti-gambling laws, has been officially struck down. On May 14, 2018, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 against PASPA, saying it violated the constitution. The ruling allows individual states to make their own laws about sports betting within their borders, and it seems clear that most states are going to fast-track this golden opportunity to fill their coffers and grow their governments into a new and lucrative industry. Whether or not your particular state rolls out sports betting on-site or online (or both) in a timely fashion remains to be seen, so until at least then, it’s best to stick with legal online sportsbooks like Bovada, SportsBetting, and other top providers for your Internet sports wagering needs.
Is Online Sports Betting Legal In The USA?
The legal issues surrounding online sports betting have been debated even more than those surrounding online poker, as there are additional gambling laws pertaining to sports gambling outside of any other sport. Obviously there is the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA, 2006) that is making it difficult for the financial portion of online sports gambling to operate stateside, but there is also another law that has made it difficult for gambling sites to take bets on sports - the Wire Act of 1961. We are going to touch on these laws and how they affect you, as well as what sort of trouble exists when trying to bet on sports.
Sports gambling in the United States has had a rocky history. Due to organized crime (and protectionism by the government re its own state lotteries), the federal government had taken great steps to prohibit sports betting from taking place. The Interstate Wire Act of 1961 was the first step in banning sports betting in the United States, and this created a framework to prosecute those who illegally accepted wagers on sporting events over telecommunications across state lines. The wired, cabled existence of the Internet means that Internet is also covered by the Wire Act.
32 years later, congress passed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA). PASPA made it illegal for any state to authorize a sports betting business that had not been 'grandfathered' in by having legalized a form of sports gambling prior to the act's creation. Only Nevada, Oregon, Montana and Delaware were grandfathered in, though only Nevada had an actual robust sports betting industry. Fortunately, PASPA has been eliminated by the US Supreme Court, and states are now free to regulate their own sports betting initiatives.
The UIGEA came on in 2006. More of a symbol against online gambling and a banking restriction, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act has long been a sign of the struggle for legalizing online gambling. In terms of sports betting, the UIGEA has had the same affect that it has had on other forms of gambling - it has complicated making payments into these sites. It has not actually caused any players any harm, as it is nothing more than a financial inconvenience.
If you haven't figured it out, it is not illegal to wager on sports over the Internet - not on a federal level at least. Federally speaking, you have as much of a chance of going to jail for placing a wager as you do getting hit by lightning. One U.S. Attorney, Catherine Hanaway, was once asked by a House representative, '[Is there] no prohibition against gambling on the Internet?' to which she replied 'That's Correct.' This was back in 2007, and as far as we know, no major law has been passed surrounding online sports gambling on a federal level, so this seems to remain true today. This does not, however, mean that sports betting is legal in every single state.
We would like to say that no one has ever been arrested for gambling online, but this is not the case. One man had been arrested due to the violation of a state law in North Dakota for placing a wager over $500 - a misdemeanor in the state of North Dakota. This arrest was not even because he gambled online, it was simply that he gambled - it is pure happenstance that he had gambled through the Internet. Even still, there are those states that have their own bans against online gambling, and we do not recommend attempting to gamble if you live within one of these states. Washington is the primary aggressor against online gambling, but Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington and Wisconsin all have bans against online gambling in their code of laws. Provided you adhere to the laws of your state, there should be no legal complications when trying to bet on sports over the Internet - just don't try to establish your own sports gambling business, as this is an excellent way for you to get in trouble.
The fact of the matter is that there are several safe and legal methods in which players from the United States will be able to gamble safely and legally. We have myriad different legal sports betting sites listed on our site, along with comprehensive reviews for each. We list all of the most important facets of the sportsbook, so that you know what to look for going in before signing up for an account. Not to mention the fact that all of these sports sites we do mention have a great track record with bettors in the United States. You can rest assured that these are all legal options with fantastic records of trust.
See more about legal online sports betting here as well as a list of all online sports betting sites accepting USA players.
The question and confusion regarding the legality of gambling in the United States isn’t the easiest topic to comprehend.
Before you get started with clean-cut laws, you’ve first got to investigate and classify the different forms of gambling. Is the subject of the legality question sports betting, brick-and-mortar casino games or online wagering?
They’re not all the same and different rules apply to each form.
If that’s not enough to get your mind ticking, you’ve then got to concern yourself with the states of interest. The US is unique in its law system in that each state is able to choose and change the laws. So depending on where you are in the country, what is or is not legal can be totally different.
So what exactly is the story on gambling in the US? What forms are illegal and where are they prohibited?
The state-based problem
Perhaps the biggest problem when it comes to looking at the legality of gambling is the specifics related to the restrictions on a state-by-state basis.
Gambling is legal according to U.S. federal law, but there are a series of significant restrictions when it comes to in-state and online gambling. It’s not simple to give a yes or no answer to the question of whether or not gambling is illegal, but rather a follow-up question regarding the state of residence is necessary.
Since each state is free to regulate and prohibit gambling in any way that it may choose, a full check towards both the type of gambling and the geographical location must be checked to avoid breaking state law.
Is Online Gambling Legal In Texas
There are only two states in which all forms of gambling (including the state-run lottery) are completely prohibited: Hawaii and Utah. However, when it comes to casino-based gambling, not all states are particularly lenient.
Federal law does, however, permit Native American Trust Land to be used for games of chance with the caveat of an agreement made between the State and the Tribal Government according to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988.
States permitting statewide gambling
There are only two states that permit statewide gambling: Nevada and Louisiana. Both state and local governments impose licensing and zoning restrictions, though, so it’s not as easy as you might think to start up a casino of your own.
Each of the other states allowing any form of casino-based gambling restricts the areas to small geographic areas that often form casino hotspots, ripe for parties and high roller lifestyles. Atlantic City, New Jersey, and Tunica, Mississippi are all great examples of this, but there are always ways and means to find loopholes in laws. That is exactly what we see with riverboat-based casinos.
It is for this reason that we see floating casinos throughout some states that, more often than not, are permanently moored within a body of water and open to the public to play.
Different rules for different games
Another layer of confusion is added when we start considering the legality of different forms of gambling in each state, just in case you weren’t already scratching your head enough.
Depending on the type of gambling, in any of the following categories:
- Charitable – Gambling with proceeds going towards a charitable cause
- Parimutuel – Gambling in which bets of a particular type are placed together within a pool with the house-take deducted.
- Lotteries – Often state-run games of chance that are often used to feed back into the community.
- Commercial – The form of gambling in which the provider makes a profit.
- Tribal – The form of gambling encompassing all operations taking place on tribal land in the US.
- Racetrack – Any form of gambling involving a racetrack e.g. greyhound and horse racing
- Online – Any form of gambling that is based online.
- Sports betting – Any form of gambling in which the outcome of a sporting event is the focus.
A full table showing the legality of each form of betting can be seen in the table below:
| State | Chari-table | Pari-mutuel | Lot-teries | Commercial | Tribal | Racetrack | Online | Sports betting |
| Alabama | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| Alaska | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| American Samoa | Yes | No | No | No | N/A | No | No | No |
| Arizona | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| Arkansas | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A | Yes | No | No |
| California | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| Colorado | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Connecticut | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| Delaware | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Washington, D.C. | Yes | No | Yes | No | N/A | No | No | No |
| Florida | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Georgia | Yes | No | Yes | No | N/A | No | No | No |
| Guam | Yes | No | Yes | No | N/A | No | No | No |
| Hawaii | No | No | No | No | N/A | No | No | No |
| Idaho | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| Illinois | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A | Yes | No | No |
| Indiana | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No |
| Iowa | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Kansas | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| Kentucky | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | N/A | Yes | No | No |
| Louisiana | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Maine | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No |
| Maryland | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A | Yes | No | No |
| Massachusetts | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Michigan | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Minnesota | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Mississippi | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Missouri | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | N/A | No | No | No |
| Montana | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Nebraska | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| Nevada | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| New Hampshire | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | N/A | No | No | No |
| New Jersey | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| New Mexico | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| New York | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| North Carolina | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| North Dakota | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Northern Mariana Islands | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | N/A | No | No | No |
| Ohio | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A | Yes | No | No |
| Oklahoma | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Oregon | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Pennsylvania | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Puerto Rico | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A | Yes | No | No |
| Rhode Island | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| South Carolina | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| South Dakota | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Tennessee | No | No | Yes | No | N/A | No | No | No |
| Texas | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| Utah | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Vermont | Yes | No | Yes | No | N/A | No | No | No |
| Virginia | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No |
| United States Virgin Islands | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A | Yes | No | No |
| Washington | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| West Virginia | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A | Yes | No | Yes |
| Wisconsin | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| Wyoming | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No |
Legality of different types of gambling in states and territories
Take a look at the table and you might be a little overwhelmed at first, but don’t worry, a second, slightly longer one will serve you well and keep you on the straight and narrow when attempting to gamble throughout the US.
Pick the state of choice and scan the row to see what forms of gambling you’ll be able to engage in while in the state. For die-hard gambling fans, this might just act as the holy grail of tables with all the information you’ll ever need to plan what casinos to visit and what to play when you are in different areas of the country.
Thankfully, if you have accidentally fallen onto the wrong side of the law, punishment is rarely severe and in the majority of states will merely involve minor fines or warnings if caught. However, we do not recommend deliberately ignoring the law when choosing to gamble.
Is online gambling illegal?
What’s perhaps the most interesting in the above table is the lack of legality when looking into online gambling in the majority of states. At first glance it appears that Delaware, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania are the only states permitting wagering online – but just how true is the fact?
One of the most frequently asked questions when it comes to the issue of legality is whether or not gambling is illegal when wagering online.
To put it in black and white, there is absolutely no U.S. federal law against the act of gambling online. This makes it absolutely legal to gamble online at the federal level, although it is possible to run afoul of state law. However, the prosecution of gamers is extremely rare and although penalties can be enforced, they are usually very slight.
The confusion surrounding online gambling legality
There is often a large amount of confusion surrounding the legality of online gambling due to the false report from various outlets that Congress had banned all online gambling in 2006.
The reports, for lack of a better word, are simply wrong. Although a gambling-related law was introduced in 2006, it was in no form detrimental to online gambling legality. The law simply made it illegal for banks to move gambling money when the bets that had been placed were already illegal. There was no caveat regarding the placing of bets by players.
Not only is there no mention of its prevention, but there is actually a passage regarding the lack of changes to gambling in the US within the law that reads:
“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.”
There is absolutely nothing to worry about.
When Is Online Gambling Legal In The Us Virgin Islands
States explicitly legalizing online gambling
When it comes to state laws explicitly legalizing online gambling, you’ll find very few that are completely against the act of online wagering, but there are a couple with overarching gambling laws preventing the betting.
It’s worth checking up on your specific state laws if you’re a little apprehensive about depositing real money at a new place to play. There is the odd state that only allows some forms of gambling e.g. poker and, of course, those that completely forbid all forms. If you’re a resident, the chances are that you’ll already loosely know the laws, but a quick state-specific Google search will confirm the information.
The states that have specifically legalized at least a single form of online gambling are as follows:
- Delaware – Legalized online gambling in 2012
- Nevada – Legalized online poker in 2013
- New Jersey – Legalized poker + casino in 2013
States that have an online gambling prohibition
It may be true that there is very little in the way of explicit online gambling laws, but when it comes to online gambling prohibition in general, there are a number of states that don’t take it too kindly.
So, it’s with a heavy heart, that you’re in for some bad news if you reside in any of the following states:
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Louisiana
- Montana
- Nevada
- Oregon
- South Dakota
- Washington
- Wisconsin
Of course, if you’re unsure of the laws (or just don’t care to follow them) the penalties for gambling online are almost always light. The only states in which recognize gambling as a felony are Washington State and Washington, DC.
For the majority of states, gambling is a misdemeanor, such as in Arkansas and Colorado where the offense is simple and likened to a traffic ticket.
The legality of taking online bets
It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the act of taking online bets isn’t the most legal of things you could be doing while surfing the web.
In fact, it has always been against federal law to take sports bets over the internet, despite the fact that it is legal to make them. So if you’re planning on setting up a site and accepting sports bets online, you’ve got another plan coming. The Wire Act is an integral part of the system for keeping players safe when they’re wagering online.
Despite this, finding a reputable place to play can be a challenge and because of the legal issues surrounding online play. We see very few sites that cover the whole of the US for places to play online. Although there are a couple that do, they are usually best to avoid as they tend to be on the shadier side of the law.
To cut a long story short
It’s clear that the laws around gambling in the US are a little bit nightmarish, but if you keep your wits about you and stick to the table before heading out (or staying in) to gamble, you will know exactly where you stand.
Get it wrong and you might be looking at some repercussions. Thankfully, in the majority of cases, these aren’t particularly severe and those playing shouldn’t face any jail time. It is common for the offenses to resemble a parking ticket with fines and warnings: the most that you’re likely to see.
Regardless, it is best to check before heading out and know exactly what the rules are in the state where you are planning to play!