Know Your State Gambling Laws
Online gambling is any type of gambling conducted online. This includes casinos, virtual poker and sports betting among others. However, the first online gambling site opened to the public, was ticketing for a Swiss National lottery in 1994. Since then, online gambling has exploded onto the cyber-space, and several international gambling jurisdictions have experienced online gambling growth of their own.
One of the most popular types of online gambling is internet casino gambling or online poker gambling. Millions of Americans alone play on-line, and the growth of this gambling scene has been phenomenal. Many Americans choose internet casino gambling because they are located in states where on-site casinos are not permitted or legal, so internet gambling is the closest they can get to gambling legally, while still being able to use their computers and have access to their favorite games. Unfortunately, many laws and legal restrictions that would hinder on-site casinos also apply to online gambling.
Online gamblers can choose from several options when deciding where to wager their money. The most popular choices are conventional casinos, European casinos, online betting exchanges and the more obscure Hong Kong casinos. In addition, many states, including California, have already passed legislation which severely restricts online gambling, either through on-site casinos or online betting exchanges. The biggest legal controversy surrounds the provision of poker machines to on-site casinos, however, since the U.S. government considers poker gambling to be a form of gambling, and therefore, it should be illegal to transfer money to an online account from a real casino.
Internet gamblers will often find that online gambling games are easier to get into than traditional casino gambling. On-site casinos typically require visitors to pay fees and buy gaming licenses before they can gamble; however, online gambling sites do not. Most online gambling sites are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Additionally, most online gambling sites offer promotions and specials that enable players to win free money, bonuses and other types of merchandise. This makes online gambling accessible to virtually everyone, even those who don’t live in the United States.
Before playing at any online gambling site, online gamblers should make sure that they have a computer with a reliable internet connection, since playing without a good internet connection can significantly reduce the amount of money that players win or lose. Internet users living in apartments, on college dorms or other homes without cable service should consider using a broadband internet connection. For others, a dial up internet connection may be more suitable. Finally, players interested in participating in sports betting should check to see if the online gambling site accepts members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the Professional Football Writers Association and the NCAA Women’s Division I Women’s Sports Writers’ Panel.
Although many states have already legalized online gambling, it is illegal to operate an online gambling website from within the United States if the operator does not have the consent of a resident of the state. In some cases, the operator must obtain a valid license from a resident of the state before operating the website. For example, in Maryland, residents are required to register as contractors before being able to open a casino. To learn more about online gambling laws in other states, the players are encouraged to research the Internet and look for official state websites.