The Legality of Online Gambling
Over the years, there has been a proliferation of online casinos and sports bookies. They cater to various activities that gamblers can indulge in from betting on cards to sports events such as the Super Bowl. This new technology has allowed gamblers to play virtually any time. Despite this current trend, many still doubt the legality of such endeavor.
Theoretically speaking, there is no legal foundation for operating an online gambling enterprise. However, since there is an influx of internet casinos that thrive uninterrupted, in reality it would seemingly be legitimate to manage an online gambling business. When it comes to accessible businesses, many businesses offer card games such as poker as well as sports betting and roulette.
Sports betting, on the other hand, seem a legal kind of Internet gambling since there is no way for the computer to have a hand in determining the winner of a football game. Games of probability like roulette should be disallowed. These games can be rigged, which could lead to few winners but more losers.
According to the Wire Wager Act, sports betting is the only online betting venture that is prohibited. Individuals, entities, or firms that will engage in any activity related to such will be fined or imprisoned for no longer than two years. However, majority of these firms have moved their business to Central American countries and other foreign states. Normally, you would see these companies operating in Antigua or Caribbean Islands. The popular PartyPoker, for example, has its head office in Gibraltar.
Internet sports bettors, in particular, have their operations abroad, but most of their clients are Americans, and this is the dilemma here. They remain as the biggest gamblers and most of the revenues of bookies come from Americans. Instructions on how to deposit their wager into their account are wired by sports betting firms to the players before they can make a bet.
Again there is the question of legality of the transaction between a client based in the United States and a firm who is operating abroad. Practically speaking, it is difficult to order sports bookies to stop its operation when they conduct their business on a country where gambling is a perfectly legitimate business.
It is a tough job for the Department of Justice to apply the Wire Wager Act on foreign companies, and this practice seems endless. In 1998 alone, the total amount generated by these companies was pegged at $600 million, and has increased tenfold in a span of eight years.
However, this practice experienced a major blow courtesy of the US Congress. Voting 317-93, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act or H.R. 4411 prohibited financial transactions to online casinos based abroad. In addition, H.R. 4411 likewise demands lending institutions and credit card firms to stop making payments to about 2,300 online casinos based outside of the United States. The new bill is applicable not only to sports betting but also to other forms of online gambling.