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Legal or Illegal
Welcome to the legality section
of our website. What follows does not represent a definitive or
comprehensive analysis of the subject, but it should give you a
broad picture in terms of the main legal issues associated with
online gambling. The information here has been divided into two
parts: one for the EU and the other for the US, as sharp
differences exist between the two regions. Furthermore, laws
regarding online gambling can be quite unclear at times. Quite
naturally, it is important for all players, regardless of their
nationality, to be aware of the legal foundations of online
gambling.
In the case of the EU, no legislation has been passed to outlaw
online gambling outright. In the US, for a long time attempts
were made to legislate against online gambling, but such
attempts were generally made on a state-by-state basis and they
all focused on different laws and practices regarding online
gambling. Until recently, the activity was generally considered
a legal grey area (especially in the US). Recent anti-gambling
US legislation, however, has changed all of that.
In a nutshell, US legislation about online gambling is/was very
unclear. We used to say that the main point to remember is that
no federal law exists preventing US nationals from engaging in
online gambling or any related activity. Internet gambling
‘expert’ Professor I. Nelson Rose, explicitly states that online
gambling should be regarded as perfectly legal as “no United
States federal statute or regulation explicitly prohibits
Internet gambling, either domestically or abroad.” Reinforcing
the argument, estimates show that 70% of all online wagers are
US-based, Americans account for over 933 of online poker players
and participate in more than 55% of the proportion of internet
gambling activities. It would seem quite extreme to claim that
all of those people are not respecting the law!
As for the situation in US for the moment, it appears that the
legislation's reach is limited and the ability of US citizens to
place bets at online casinos and online poker rooms has only
been 'changed' and not completely taken away. Again, in keeping
with its tradition, the issue falls into another gray area
despite the increased clarity of the law provided by the
Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. It's difficult to predict how
effective the law will be in preventing Americans from placing
online wagers or drastically curbing the popularity of the
online gambling sector. As of now, still no US citizen has been
prosecuted for placing wagers online and the law remains unclear
in this respect. US players should, however, play at their own
risk and educate themselves as much as possible beforehand.
While many pundits and observers think the recent legislation
will ultimately follow the same path as Prohibition laws in the
30s (eventually beoverturned) - and, the parallels are
staggering - nothing is certain. Whatever the case may be, the
situation 'should' become increasingly clear in 2007.
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