Gambling Network

Is Online Gambling Legal?

Online gambling is specifically illegal in some states. The federal government for the most part has left this up to the individual state to decide on the legality of it; HOWEVER, the federal government does have in place certain laws that make the transfer of money illegal for certain things. Please note that this information is not meant in any way to be legal advice. We are not attorneys and are only publishing what we have learned.

Now, of all the states that have specific laws on the books that prohibit online gambling specifically, we have:

1.       Illinois

2.       Indiana

3.       Louisiana

4.       Michigan – not an actual law specifically prohibiting it, but added a statute that says that the internet cannot be used to violate the gambling laws already on the books.

5.       Montana

6.       Nevada

7.       Oregon

8.       South Dakota

9.       Washington State

No other state has laws on the books though some have tried to use the wire act from the 1960s to prosecute violations but have failed to make anything really stick using it. Nonetheless, the general belief across the nation is that online gambling is illegal though as I have pointed out, the vast majority does not have any published laws that support that notion.

Many gamblers who like to gamble online, as well as casino owners, have pushed for regulation and taxation in the United States though there has been no movement in that direction to date.

At this time it is widely believed that those publishers who sell advertising to the online casinos promoting online gambling are doing nothing illegal, and there are no laws in any state that prohibit anyone from doing so. The USDOJ however claims that anyone who carries the advertising could be charged with aiding and abetting.

So, all that said it’s very clear to this writer, that except for the DOJ, the US government is unclear on what is and is not illegal. Could it be that the USDOJ is making up the rules as it goes along? It would seem so since they are using a wire act put into place for TELEPHONES in 1961 to prosecute. I don’t get my internet connection over the phone however….