Legal Restrictions on Online Gambling in the UK and US
Online gambling is any type of gambling conducted via the internet. This includes casinos, online poker and live poker. The first online gambling site opened to the public, was ticket selling for the infamous Liechtenstein International Poker Tournament in October 1994. Since then there have been online gambling sites opening all over the world, with each one becoming more popular with the advent of new technologies.
Now online gambling has spread itself very far indeed. In the US there are already thirty three states plus the District of Columbia that have either passed legislation that makes it legal to gamble online or are considering doing so. There is currently a federal law which makes it illegal to operate an online gambling website from within the United States. This same law prohibits certain types of online gambling done from within the United Kingdom.
The reason why this makes online casinos illegal in the United States is because the European Commission believes that it violates their laws on money laundering. The EU wants all members of the organization to strictly abide by their own regulation making policy which makes it illegal to transfer funds to an offshore gambling site from within the EU. They feel that this constitutes gambling and therefore it should be illegal. It is this deep rooted European concern that has led many US based online casinos to choose to only operate within the European Union.
Not everyone thinks that online gambling should be completely banned. There are many people who like the fact that they are able to keep more of their taxes and winnings in their home country. Online gambling certainly has its advantages though. Some of those include; not having to leave your home, being able to bet on any game, and knowing the odds completely and accurately. The convenience that online gambling provides is also something that some people appreciate. For instance if you are a football fan you may enjoy betting on football games and not have to worry about going to the stadium and picking up a newspaper to read about the game.
Some laws do exist that will limit some aspects of online gambling however. A few examples of these include the No Free Bet rule, which prohibits customers from wagering money on a game where they have already placed bets. Another law that exists in the UK that some people don’t like to cross is the Sacked Persons rule. This states that people cannot knowingly take part in a game of chance in which they have an interest or have a particular stake in. The last thing that any online gambling legislation would do is prevent customers from taking part in online gambling for their own recreational purposes.
As you can see there are many legal restrictions on online gambling in the United Kingdom. Many of these will become more prevalent as online gambling becomes more popular and widespread throughout the world. The main problem right now is not with the UK but with U.S. based casinos who are not following the law. Many states are now starting to take action against these types of sites as they fail to follow the minimum standards of regulation and play a large part in luring people into illegal gambling activity. If you are considering betting or gambling online remember that there are serious consequences both in terms of your own actions and the possible repercussions of others doing so.