Online gambling has emerged as the fastest growing industry in the world. It’s estimated that by the end of 2021, the online gambling market will have risen to around 9.5 billion US dollars. That’s a growth of over eight percent per year. Several states have legalized some form of online gambling, while others have banned it altogether.
The United States is unique in that it has both state-level and federal-level laws that impact gambling operations. For example, it’s illegal for individuals or entities to engage in interstate online gambling. While federal law can provide the foundation for state-level policies, some states are more concerned with preventing gambling than they are with regulating it. Some states have even prohibited fantasy sports betting.
On the regulatory front, the federal government has taken several actions to curtail illegal gambling. Among them, the Department of Justice has seized the assets of companies that promote illegal gambling websites and financial service providers have been prosecuted. In addition, the Treasury Department has issued regulations that allow some online gaming operations to continue to use U.S. banks and other financial institutions.
The best way to find out whether your local government considers gambling to be illegal or not is to look at your own state’s laws. While some states prohibit gambling, others may have no problem with it. Moreover, some states are enacting legislation that enables the operation of gambling businesses, albeit decoupled from land-based casinos.
The legality of internet gambling is a complicated issue. In general, the federal government focuses on whether or not the activity is legal at the state level. Those looking to do business on the Internet have the option of establishing their operation in a foreign jurisdiction, where they would be exempt from the laws of the country they reside in. However, in order to comply with state and federal laws, these operators must be registered and licensed by their state of residence. Consequently, these companies face a daunting task of determining their legality.
The best way to determine whether or not your state has legalized or banned online gambling is to check the statutes of your state. The State of New Jersey has already started a process to legalize and regulate online casinos, and Nevada has passed legislation that will allow online gambling within its borders.
There are several other pieces of online gambling legislation that have been proposed in the past. This includes the federal Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which prohibits banks from transacting with unlicensed gambling sites. Similarly, the federal Wire Act is another law that aims to prevent gambling transactions from occurring across state lines. Lastly, the Federal Trade Commission has drafted a regulation that will require financial service providers to identify and flag suspected fraudulent online financial transactions.
As for the state-level laws, most focus on preventing the operation of an online gambling business. Others are more ambiguous. Still, many states have legalized some type of gambling, including poker, horse racing, and lottery games. Some have even created rules that require people to go to a physically located land-based casino before they can place a bet.