The history of the legality of online gambling and online casinos in the United States is long and ever-changing. It began with the Wire Act of 1961 and is still changing to this day. In November 2002, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that the electronic transfer of information for sports betting across state lines is prohibited. However, Internet gambling on a game of chance was not prohibited. All online US gambling sites had to have a license and at that stage no states were granting online gambling licenses, therefore only existing sites could operate.



Many moves were made over the years to make US online gambling illegal altogether. An Act was passed in 2006 that made transactions from banks to online gambling sites, illegal.

The United States Department of Justice claims that its biggest concern regarding online gambling is online money laundering. It suggests that as the Internet is largely anonymous and its use of encryption makes it especially difficult to trace online money laundering transactions.









In June 2007, however the Skill Game Protection Act was introduced. The aim of this act was to legalize Internet poker, bridge, chess and any other game of skill. In other words, it would allow Americans to legally bet online � that is to bet in online casino gambling games. Another act called the Internet Gambling Tax Act was also introduced around this time with the aim to legislate tax collection requirements for Internet gambling.



The bottom line, it seems, is that the restrictions to US online gambling are to the transfer of funds by US companies and institutions. The restrictions do not apply to the actual gamblers themselves, per se. Therefore, as long as Americans are aware of the restrictions placed on them and understand the difference in restrictions between the states, they should be able to happily gamble online. In 2005, 4% of Americans said that they gambled online, although the majority of those said that they began online gambling in the last two years.



There are many websites that provide information for US players regarding which casinos accept US players. For those that do accept US players, it is important to find out the method of making deposits and withdrawing funds in order to be able to bet legally.

By: Online Casinos Games & Online Gambling Team

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