Online Casinos and Gambling Articles

It is true that when the US Congress passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act and its subsequent signing of President Bush to law marked the beginning of the end of the US online gambling industry. The law effectively killed $6 billion worth of industry.

The US Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act

The US Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act is an act which prohibits the transfer of money to online casinos or gambling sites. This does not categorically prohibit the actual act of gambling online, but this effectively eliminates the industry by prohibiting the transfer of money. Ironically, this law is not a stand-alone law. It is in fact only an appendium of the Safe Port Act. Because of this Act, most online casinos have banned US players from playing within their casinos. This also gave rise to casinos that are designed for US players.

The law also gave rise to a lot of complications especially because there are no actual laws that prohibit or restrict gambling in some US states like California, Nevada, and Louisiana. This also gave rise to legal issues involving various states and countries, especially US and online casino licensing countries, especially Caribbean countries.

General Legal Issues Arising from the Act

Because of the US Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, online casinos have started to seek licensing from countries which are beyond the control and jurisdiction of the United States. This is to avoid the legal complications and prosecutions brought about by the law. This reflects the real frontiers of the gambling industry. The legality or illegality of gambling actually depends on the state laws that govern the player. If you are in the United States, then online gambling is illegal. There are debates though on the illegality of online gambling as, again, the law prohibited the transfer of the money but not the actual act of gambling. If you are in Malta or the United Kingdom, then you can enjoy online gambling for as long as you want.

In the United States, actually owning a casino with license is not illegal. If you are considering opening your own casino, you should take note of your state laws. There are states that would legally issue a license, while there are US states that would not issue a license. Regulations and laws vary from one state to another. This is also true when it comes to online gambling. Despite the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, there are state laws that should be considered.

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