Why Is Gambling Illegal In Most States

Why was sports betting illegal in most of the U.S.? The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 halted the spread of legal sports betting beyond states that then allowed it. “You start out with a general premise that in most states, gambling of any type was, by legislative pronouncement, deemed to be illegal,” Dan Etna, co-chair of the Sports Law Group at Herrick.

• Other than State-Sanctioned forms of gambling, illegal gambling of any sort is punishable by a fine of $10-$200, though there are no apparent penalties that would result in incarceration. RANK: Illegal, Barely. Virginia law makes making a wager on anything related in any way to chance illegal unless same has been sanctioned by the State.
• Too many online casinos Why Is Gambling Illegal In Most States to count, is the name of the game for this industry. Ranging from the well-established sites to many fly-by-night sites, it’s easy to get confused and overwhelmed with the choices.
• Gambling is legal in some form across most of the USA. State-specific gambling laws regulate or restrict different types of gaming at the local level. The legislation varies around land-based casinos, charitable events, sports betting, lottery, keno, bingo, and skill games, depending on where you reside.

I’m a poker player. There was a time when you would have to whisper that fact in hushed tones and make sure you watched who you were talking to. That was before the World Series of Poker was televised nationwide on ESPN, and people generally accepted the fact that there is skill involved in the game. That was before there were personal computers in every pocket and very smart people would try and solve the game with algorithms.

RELATED: Ron’s life lessons learned from poker

Did you realize that in the state of Washington it is a Class C Felony to play a hand of poker online for real money? Yes, it is a felony to place an online wager in Washington!

Just to give you some context, here is the explanation of misdemeanors from the Washington State Courts webpage: “Examples of gross misdemeanors are theft of property and driving while under the influence (DUI) of alcohol or drugs. Among the many types of misdemeanors are disorderly conduct and prostitution.”

You got that right. A DUI and prostitution are misdemeanors, while placing a wager online is a felony.

Why Is Gambling Illegal In Most States Won

Here’s the thing though, people like to gamble. It’s fun, and it can add a little excitement to a dull day. So I was surprised to read on Geekwire that Muckleshoot Casino is rolling out a new app that has a clever work around this draconian online wagering law.

Here’s how it’s going to work starting in the fall. You download their app to your phone, then physically go to the casino and purchase games with cash money. Then you can leave the casino and play the games anywhere virtually. If you win, you’re winning real money that you collect the next time you’re at the casino.

These won’t be games like poker or roulette, but more like bingo and other games where you’re not playing against the house.

I’m tempted to go on a diatribe on how stupid the state of Washington is for criminalizing an online behavior that is perfectly legal in real life. Instead, I’m going to view this as a positive step.

Hopefully, this will end up in court and the current laws will be thrown out.

Society is slowly losing its judgments about archaic prohibitions from a bygone era. Attitudes are becoming more liberal around the idea of placing a bet for entertainment. Look no further than the recent Supreme Court decision on sports wagering.

Washington state needs to wake up and realize this is a perfectly acceptable tax revenue stream that is no different than ordering your groceries online instead of going to the brick and mortar store. If people want to use their entertainment budget to play a game, isn’t that their business?

Kudos to Muckleshoot for moving this issue forward. Now let’s take the next logical step and allow responsible adults to do online all the things they can legally do in a casino.

You can hear “What are we talking about here?” everyday at 4:45 p.m. on 97.3 FM.

We've compiled this legal online betting guide for US players arranged by state, to provide accurate and up to date information on the legal online gambling status and gaming options available within each US state. Our goal is to provide a comprehensive state gambling directory which will empower players with the information to make informed decisions about online gambling.

This state-specific data will include a look at the state laws governing online gambling opportunities from online casinos, online poker, to online sports betting.

Each individual state is approaching the legalization of online gambling differently, thus it is necessary to detail lawfully available state-licensed options, and sanctioned licensed offshore online gambling opportunities. We also address some of the most commonly asked questions about gambling in each state and provide some helpful resources for players to access. This information can only be covered in depth within each of the state pages we offer, which you can find listed within this guide.

Is Online Gambling Legal In My State?

To avoid confusion, we have marked US states which offer state-regulated gambling options in the table below with a check mark. At this moment in time, eight US states have legalized and regulated online gambling in some form. For example:

Online Poker & Casinos:

• Delaware - Online Poker and Online Casino gambling
• Nevada - Online Poker
• New Jersey - Online Poker, Online Casinos
• Pennsylvania - Online Poker, Online Casinos
• West Virginia - Online Poker, Online Casinos

Online Sports Betting & Fantasy Sports

• Illinois - Legalized Online Sports Betting**
• Indiana - Offers Online Sports Betting
• Iowa - Offers Online Sports Betting
• Massachusetts - Fantasy Sports Allowed
• Mississippi - Online Allowed At Casinos Only
• Montana - Legalized Online Sports Betting**
• Nevada - Online Sportsbooks State-wide
• New Jersey - Online Sportsbooks State-wide
• New York - Allows Fantasy Sports And Domestic Sports Betting
• Oregon - Offers Online Sports Betting
• Pennsylvania - Offers Online and Domestic Sports Betting
• Rhode Island - Offers Online and Domestic Sports Betting
• Tennessee - Offers Online Sports Betting Apps
• West Virginia - Online Sports Betting Allowed State-wide

** Legalized but Pending launch

Online Lottery:

• Georgia - Online Lottery Allowed
• Illinois - Online Lottery Allowed
• Kentucky - Online Lottery Allowed
• Michigan - Online Lottery Allowed
• Minnesota - Online Lottery Allowed
• New Hampshire - Online Lottery Allowed
• Pennsylvania - Online Lottery Allowed

Is Licensed Offshore Gambling Legal In My State?

While the above-mentioned states offer regulated online gambling, they still maintain the option to utilize licensed offshore online options. Nearly all US state residents, except those from Washington or Connecticut, can legally access licensed offshore online gambling platforms to play online casino games, poker, or bet on sports.

This is because no state laws in these other 48 states specifically prohibit or allow it - thus operating in a technical grey area, it is still considered safe to use because it is not likely these states will draft and pass legislation to specifically affect domestic access to licensed offshore gaming.

What Is The Minimum Online Gambling Age in the US?

There is no one minimum gambling age in the US as this is set and regulated by each individual state. The minimum gambling age within each state is affected by various factors such as game selected and licensor. By this, we mean state-regulated online gambling options require domestic players, whether residents or visitors, to abide by the state's minimum gambling age for that form of gambling on land within the state's borders.

However, licensed offshore online platforms which offer casino games, poker, and sports betting can lawfully accept players who are at least 18 years of age or older. These licensed offshore online sites also offer players much more in the way of bonuses and perks and the platforms we recommend are all extremely reputable.

Why Is Gambling Illegal In Most States In The Us

U.S. States Where You Can Legally Gamble At 18 And Up

Below you can learn more about the minimum legal online gambling age by state in the USA.

Online Gambling Laws in The United States

Gambling laws can be a rather complex topic these days as there are several US federal gambling laws to account for such as the UIGEA, and the Federal Wire Act, as well as, several individual state gambling laws. The reason for this is because the United States DOJ has said that states have the authority to determine their own destiny concerning both land-based and online gambling.

Afterward, several states moved forward with legalizing some forms of online gambling for their region. Multiple other states are currently in discussions amongst themselves regarding the possibility of embracing this virtual gaming platform in their own territories. As discussed earlier and from what can be read from our laws page, US players outside of WA and CT are permitted access to multiple licensed, certified, and regulated online gambling sites hosted outside of the United States. This is a nice alternative for those players not located in a state with its own regulated form of domestic online gambling.

States With Pending Online Gambling Legislation

US States That Offer Domestic Sportsbooks

US States With Passed Sports Betting Legislation (Pending Launch)