Where it is Legal to Play Online Casino Games in the US

There is a huge demand for online casino slots wherever you are in the world. However, there is also a great deal of variation in online gambling laws. In the US, there are many conflicting laws on the matter, and it varies widely from state to state.

Here, we will go through the federal, that is, nationwide rules on gambling and how some states interpret these laws, and for that matter, what is technically considered to be online gambling.

Is Online Gambling Legal in the US?

The US has some complicated laws on online gambling. Technically, gambling is illegal under federal law, but each state has the freedom to practice its own laws and restrict certain forms of gambling within its own borders. In comparison with other countries around the world, the US is a bit of an anomaly. There are states such as Nevada, New Jersey and Mississippi, which have gambling cities such as Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Tunica, and so on, and these are all famous for their gambling institutions. Then there are states such as Alabama, Alaska, Washington, South Carolina, Tennessee and so on, which restrict almost all forms of gambling. Before you ask, there are 2 states, Hawaii and Utah, which have a zero-tolerance policy towards gambling.

What Constitutes Gambling?

Before diving straight into online gambling, we should probably define what that means. There are distinctions that can be made between forms of gambling, and these are all either legal or illegal across the country (except for Hawaii and Utah).

·        Charitable gambling

·        Pari-mutuel gambling

·        Lotteries

·        Commercial gambling

·        Tribal gambling

·        Racetrack gambling

·        Sports gambling

·        Online gambling

Charitable gambling

When there are raffles or games that are held for non-profit organisations. These are categorised as charitable gambling activities. It could be raising money to build houses, schools, hospitals, supporting members of a community, and all the other non-profit developments.

Pari-mutuel Gambling

Pari-mutuel gambling is a form of betting where all the bets relate to a specific event and the bets are put together in a pool. It is referred to as "betting among ourselves" as it is a type of bet that can be organised in an informal assembly. Nowadays, this is quite a rare form of gambling, but in the past, it was more commonplace and was frequently used for horse racing events.

Lotteries

Lotteries are a form of gambling where numbers are drawn at random and the person with the winning combination of numbers can win a huge prize. Usually these work with progressive jackpots, where the prize money will grow after each draw (which will be held relatively frequently), with a portion of the price of the tickets going into the pot. Once someone wins the lottery, they collect the entire sum and then the prize money is reset to the default amount. Interestingly, many countries in the world nationalise their lotteries, and the government runs them. England was the first country to do so - with the first-ever official national lottery being held in 1569. There is no national lottery in the United States, and 6 of the 50 states have banned lotteries.

Commercial gambling

Commercial gambling refers to establishments where you can find all types of gambling machines and table games. Las Vegas, Reno, and Atlantic City are all cities that thrive on their casinos and they are a great source of tourism and finance. The United States is split on the subject of commercial gambling, with 25 states banning casinos and the other 25 allowing for casinos to be run within their borders.

Tribal gambling

Tribal gambling refers to casinos and bingo halls that are on Native American reservations. These are far more commonplace than commercial gambling institutions and they are hugely popular with both tourists and Americans. Most tribal gambling institutions use their profits to keep the land independent and provide jobs, housing, education, and welfare for the native tribes.

Racetrack gambling

Racetrack gambling is one of the oldest forms of organised gambling, and they are bets that can be made on horse or dog races. In Britain, the practice is extremely popular and dates back to the early 1600s. In the US, bookmakers are only allowed to operate in 29 states.

Sports gambling

Sports gambling is when people can bet on sports events. Sports betting was outlawed in the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 across the majority of the United States, but in 2018 the law was overturned by the United States Supreme Court. Currently, 30 states allow sports betting.

Online gambling

Online gambling has had quite a turbulent history with federal law. In the Federal Wire Act of 1961, interstate wagering on sports was banned, but other forms of online gambling were not addressed in the act. This gave states the freedom to decide whether the act banned all forms of online gambling, or whether certain forms of online gambling were permitted. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 banned financial transactions between online gambling service providers, which controversially resulted in several offshore online gambling companies shutting down their services for US customers. Other operators used loopholes to avoid breaking the law and continued to provide gambling services for the US market.

As a result, online gambling is far scarcer in the US than it is in a lot of other countries. Currently, 7 states allow online gambling in some form. These are Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

However, online gambling can be broken down into various categories. There are states that permit some forms of online gambling while others offer none at all.

What is Online Gambling?

Across the US, states have taken the issue of what is online gambling to court. A lot of games were tested to see whether they were games of skill or chance. In addition to this, the question of what can be considered "wagering" was also used as a pretext to determine which games could be considered gambling.

●       Online Sports Betting

●       Online Casinos

●       Online Poker Rooms

Online Sports Betting

Online sports betting is when you make wagers on sports events through online sportsbooks. Sports betting is extremely popular in Britain, and in the US, there is also a huge demand for it. In terms of legality, online sports betting is the most recognised form of online gambling.

Online sports betting, however, is not related to online gaming. In fact, most operators will offer either one or the other. There are land casinos that run their own sportsbook - if they are legally within their rights to do so, as it is a very highly demanded form of gambling.

There are many reasons why sports fans may choose to use online sports betting in favour of going to land casinos to place their bets. First off, you will be able to check out the odds on a game and then make the decisions in your own time rather than go to a bookmaker and check out all of the odds there.

Next, you may have some additional features that would be quite limited at a bookmaker. For example, you may have the option to cash out your bet during a game. You can probably do this with bookmakers, but you will have to be close to the window or a kiosk and then you will have to enter your ticket, confirm your decision, and so on. This is all cut into a few steps with online sports betting as the payout will be offered and you can simply click on it and confirm to cashout. Time can be a hugely influential factor when making a quick cashout, so you do not want to waste it standing in a line or waiting for someone to serve you. Next, anything you win will be instantly sent to your online account. You will not have to go back to the bookmaker and return your ticket - a hassle that most sports bettors would want to cut out.

Arizona, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, New York, Oregon, South Dakota, and Wyoming are among the countries that currently forbid other forms of online gambling but allow online sports betting.

Online Casinos

Online casinos are websites where you can play slots and several table games. The variety of games may vary from state to state, as a lot may be considered “games of chance” or they are considered games that need “wagering”.

Online casinos are usually filled with slots, as these are the most popular in the market. There are many developers around the world that publish new titles, and online casinos try to sweep them up as they increase their own game portfolio. In addition to slots, there are plenty of table games such as poker, blackjack, roulette, baccarat, and so on, which have many different formats online. You can find variants of all these popular games that come with their own features, a different interpretation of some of the base rules, and other interesting qualities.

One thing to note about online casinos is that you are always playing against the house. Whether you are playing a game of bingo, spinning a slot, or even increasing a stake in a round of poker - you will be playing to beat the house.

Online Poker Rooms

Online poker rooms are networks where poker enthusiasts can play against each other online. These became hugely popular in the 2000s. The reason was that people could start playing poker from the comfort of their own homes for real money, and they could play against real people. There are many types of online poker rooms depending on the variant, limits, the number of players involved, and whether the players are engaging in a series such as a tournament, or whether they are playing casually and by each hand.

State-by-State Where You Can Gamble

Connecticut

Online gambling was legalized in Connecticut in 2021. Casinos in Connecticut can offer online gambling services if they partner with a recognised institution. For example, Foxwoods casino partnered with DraftKings, Mohegan casino partnered with FanDuel, the Connecticut Lottery partnered with Rush Street, and so on.

Delaware

This state was one of the first to legalise online gambling. In 2012, online poker, lottery games, and online casinos were allowed to operate in Delaware. Residents of the state can enjoy the services of major online casinos such as Delaware Park Online, Dover Downs Online Gaming, and Harrington Online.

Michigan

Michigan legalised online gambling in 2019, and the state is fast emerging as one of the biggest states to gamble in the US. Currently, there are 26 traditional casinos in Michigan and there are 9 online casinos. These casinos are operated by some of the top companies in the industry, including FanDuel, DraftKings, and so on.

New Jersey

New Jersey is the go-to place for online casinos. The state is the top earner in the US for online and offline gambling activity. Many of the top casinos have their own online casino sites, which are usually rebranded to adhere to the laws of online gambling in the state. For example, the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa has 10 different websites which you can use, including www.borgatapoker.com, www.nj.partycasino.com, and www.nj.partypoker.com. Some casinos partner do not include the name of the casino or the state of New Jersey in their domain. Caesars Interactive Entertainment operates us.888poker.com - which does not use either but instead they partnered with 888poker to promote their online casino.

Pennsylvania

The first online casino in Pennsylvania was launched in 2019. The state gives licenses to online casinos for peer-to-peer poker games, non-peer-to-peer slots and table games.

West Virginia

Since 2019, online gaming has been legal in the state of West Virginia. There are 5 land casinos in the state, which at BetMGM, Caesars, BetRivers, FanDuel, and DraftKings.

Nevada

This is quite a controversial one, as Nevada does permit online gambling but the state has not licenced any online casino sites.

What Will Happen in the Future?

Despite the fact that online gaming has proven to be extremely popular, it is difficult to predict what will happen in the US in the near future. States such as Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusets, New York, North Carolina, and Ohio, have either started procedures to legalise online gambling or are not far away from making it happen. However, many states are more conservative on the subject and therefore, not only prohibit online gambling but also sports betting and other popular forms of gambling.

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