There is no U.S. federal law against gambling online
There is no U.S. federal law against gaming online. At the federal level, gambling on the internet is perfectly legal, due to the absence of a law against it. It is likely to run afoul of state law (notably in extremely conservative countries ), but even there prosecution is very uncommon, and penalties are often minor.
U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway confessed in a House hearing that only placing wagers online doesn’t violate federal law. No American has ever been arrested, indicted, or prosecuted by the feds for gaming online, since there’s no law against it. If online gaming were illegal I wouldn’t be running his site for nineteen decades, as an American citizen, living in the U.S., with my real name. And I occasionally gamble on the internet, too, and I admit that publicly, like I’m doing right now.
This may be confusing as the other outlets erroneously noted that Congress prohibited online gaming in 2006. These reports are simply erroneous. The 2006 law makes it illegal for banks to maneuver betting money once the bets are already illegal (like from a country law), but does not ensure it is illegal for gamers to make stakes. The law just does not create or expand any ban on gambling itself. In reality, the law states quite clearly,»No provision of this subchapter shall be construed as altering, limiting, or extending any Federal or State legislation or Tribal-State compact prohibiting, allowing, or regulating gaming within the USA.» You can see for yourself by checking out the full text of this law.
While you do not violate any federal laws from putting bets online, it’s not legal to conduct a gaming operation (i.e., to take bets), but in those few countries where it’s explicitly legal and the operator is accredited. So don’t think you can start an online casino or operate Facebook raffles.
And yes, the FBI published a frightening warning online where they claimed that placing bets on the internet is against the law. In short, they lied, and the DoJ finally reversed that place anyway. (more on that)
States where online gambling is explicitly legal
Not many countries have specific laws against online gaming, although many have laws against gaming generally, which apply both to online and offline gaming. A small handful of states have legalized online gambling, provided that you perform at one of the handful of approved online casinos. In some states, only certain kinds of gambling might be lawful (e.g., poker). The countries That Have legalized at least some form of online gambling are:
Delaware became the first nation to legalize online gaming, in June 2012, and the third to start (Nov. 26, 2013). (USA Today, Delaware Online, Casino.org)
Nevada became the first nation to legalize online gambling (well, poker at least), on Feb. 21, 2013 (CBS) and launch on April 30. (LVRJ)
New Jersey became the third state to legalize online gaming (poker + casino), signed into law in February 2013, and launching on Nov. 25th. (NJ Poker Online)
Be aware that Bovada will not accept players from such countries, nor will they accept players out of Maryland or New York.
The District of Colmbia became the first jurisdiction to legalize online gaming in the U.S., in April 2011. On the other hand, the measure was repealed in February 2012 before it became active. (NY Times)
State violations of gambling are often misdemeanors
Even if states don’t permit players to gamble, the penalties are almost always mild. The only states where easy gambling is a felony are both Washingtons: Washington, DC, and Washington state. (source) In many nations easy gaming is just a misdemeanor, and in Arkansas and Colorado it’s a straightforward petty crime, like a traffic ticket. (source)
States with an online gaming prohibition
Even countries that ban gambling generally usually don’t have a specific ban on online gambling. If it’s against the law to gamble on your nation, that applies online and offline, even if the law does not mention online. However, a couple of states do specifically outlaw online gambling. Those countries are:
Illinois
Indiana
Louisiana
Montana
Nevada (go figure)
Oregon
South Dakota
Washington
Wisconsin
Resource: Gambling Law U.S.
Participants convicted of violating State laws I know of only two cases where a participant ran afoul of state laws (in exceptionally conservative nations ), both of whom were billed under their state’s general anti-gambling laws, not any specific anti-online-gambling law:
North Dakota. Jeffrey Trauman paid a $500 fine on what was likely over $100,000 in online sports wager winnings, in 2003. (Gambling & the Law)
Oklahoma. Online sports bettor Roland Benavides was billed in 2011 and at 2012 received a deferred sentence (meaning that when he doesn’t violate the terms of his probation, he will likely face no jail time). (Information OK)
Kentucky seized domains A Kentucky judge consented to allow Kentucky capture 141 gambling-related domains, on the spurious grounds that a domain name constituted a»gambling device» under state law. But even if it were clear that gaming domains broken Kentucky law, the seizure was nevertheless ridiculous, due to that logic any country could grab any domain anywhere in the world when the site happened to violate its regional law. In any event, as FlushDraw said,»Only a few of US-based registrars complied, and the seizures themselves were left somewhat moot when nearly all of the affected domains relocated to non-US registrar services and ceased using».com» domains.»
The Kentucky Court of Appeals promptly chased the seizure action, but then the State appealed. I couldn’t find any updates involving 2014-2018 (EFF 2008, KY appealed in 2009, 2014 judgment )
Taking bets is illegal It’s always been against national law to carry sports bets over the Web (not to make them). In other words, you can’t establish a site and accept sports bets from the public. The legislation that prohibits this is called the Wire Act. For years the feds stated that the Wire Act applied to taking casino and poker stakes too. In 2011 they reversed themselves and stated the Wire Act applied only to athletics. (Forbes) Subsequently in 2019 they reversed themselves and returned to the previous position that the Wire Act indeed applies to taking casino and poker bets too. (source) Though again, placing bets remains perfectly legal under federal law. The challenge is finding a reputable place to play. Because of the legal problems, there are not many operators serving the entire U.S., and many of those which do are kind of questionable. That’s why I advertise only Bovada on this site, because they’re the best one for U.S. players.
States can now offer sports gambling In May 2018, the Supreme Court overturned a law that illegal sports gambling in most states but Nevada. This allows individual states to legalize sports gambling if they opt to do so. However, the court’s ruling doesn’t talk to the Wire Act, therefore online sportsbooks still violate federal law (for the operator, not the player). (Forbes)
Read more: worldbaseball2017.com