What exactly does the law state and whats it all mean? I know online gambling is illegal due to the port security bill, but what does it actually apply to. Ive heard people say on theese forums totally different things on the issue and i have no clue. Is it just for the banks, the websites, the processors? And how can the US govt actually go after sites that are based offshore in costa rica and such?
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Federal law does not prohibit your gambling online, as long as you’re the player and not the bookie. Most states do have laws that prohibit your gambling online, though they are typically misdemeanors and are never enforced.
Though the gambling itself should get you into no legal trouble whatsoever, naturally there are related activities that can. Besides the aforementioned bookmaking, you can also get into legal trouble for not reporting whatever money you win gambling as income for tax purposes, moving money in and out of offshore books to launder it, etc.
Not really. The attachment to the port security bill authorized banking regulations instructing financial institutions not to allow certain transactions related to illegal gambling. It changed nothing about the legal status of your gambling online. Before it passed you were doing something “illegal” in the trivial sense mentioned above of violating unenforced state misdemeanor laws. After it passed you were still doing something “illegal” in the trivial sense mentioned above of violating unenforced state misdemeanor laws. The only difference is now the banks are supposed to make more of an effort not to facilitate your doing so.
What specifically the banking regulations will be (the bill authorized writing and implementing regulations, but allowed up to 270 days for that to happen), how and how much they’ll be enforced, whether and how banks will comply, etc. remains to be seen. What has happened so far is some entities—offshore books, money transfer companies, banks—have pre-emptively changed their policies to bring them into compliance with what they’re guessing will eventually be required of them.
Their claim is that when a wager is made by phone or online between a party in the United States and a party out of the United States, it counts as taking place in the United States (or in both locations I suppose, but what matters is they treat it as occurring in the United States). Whichever of the parties is the bookie—regardless of if he’s the party in the United States or outside it—they regard as being in violation of U.S. law.
WSEX’s Jay Cohen voluntarily returned to the United States to challenge this interpretation in court, and the court decided against him and he served time in prison as a result.Comment -
wow thanks, so federally there is no law against me gambling online, but state laws are what id be breaking. Do those laws specifically point to online gambling or is it gambling in general, for example say i lived in las vegas where gambling i take it is legal would i be violating laws there?
Easier version my question, do the laws have to specifically say no online gambling or no gambling in general, and how many states actually have laws against online gambling specifically?Comment -
Nevada law allows sportsbetting at their state-regulated casinos. You’re breaking Nevada law if you play offshore from within their state, same as other states.
I don’t know how many states specifically mention online gambling. Most of these forgotten and ignored laws are archaic and so predate the Internet. I suppose some of the more recently enacted ones mention online gambling specifically.
I don’t think it matters whether “online” is mentioned explicitly or not.Comment
