If you have arrived at this site, then you are probably someone who is looking for more information concerning the legalities of online sports betting. This guide is one of the few destinations that is committed to providing up-to-date and accurate information about the legitimate and legal online sports betting opportunities available to USA bettors. We will also offer detailed reviews on the leading legal sportsbooks to assist bettors in making informed decisions concerning what brands to consider. This is a guide for sports bettors created by sports bettors. What you will find here is valid information and simple, honest facts.
I'm a straight shooter - I like to tell it how it is. I don't sugarcoat the reality concerning the condition of the industry and I'm not here to try to convince you that I'm anyone other than a dedicated sports bettor turned consultant. I'm not a lawyer, or a Harvard graduate. I'm a regular guy who has been involved in online gambling, specifically online sports betting for a long time. Some of what I learned was from hard knocks, some was from other industry professionals, and most of it came from fine-tuning my skill set as an experienced gambler. I have teamed up with other like minded online gambling professionals to create this resource guide, and combined we offer a range of experience that spans decades. Our team of professionals will provide you with helpful information for making informed decisions, such as our legal NFL betting and legal college football betting pages, designed to give you insight into what to expect from the opening portion of this year's football season. These are the extra kinds of resources you will find in our guide.
This guide is a comprehensive approach to understanding the online sports betting industry. Players from the United States have not always had easy access to gambling opportunities or resources that make the journey simpler and more enjoyable. That is precisely what we intend to provide here. We worked to make the legal aspects concerning USA online sports betting simplified and easy to understand, providing exactly what bettors need to make informed decisions concerning their sports book wagering objectives. We also want to remind you that its also about enjoying yourself and having fun. Once the fun factor is missing, there's really not a lot of reasons to stay involved.
The idea in tackling legal topics is not to convince you we are lawyers, because we're not. But we do know the industry inside and out and are able to provide helpful insight to assist bettors in determining the best course of action for their specific situation. This page will break down some of the main questions concerning legal online sports betting, while the additional pages will address specific sports segments, such as legal online football betting, basketball betting, baseball betting, including the important events such as the MLB World Series, horse betting, and others, providing helpful information in developing strategic involvement as a bettor. We discuss the fastest paying sportsbooks in the industry that pay quickly, and what the mobile sportsbook platform is all about. This is not an effort to get you to bet the way I bet or to select the type of wagering options I favor. I'm just going to give it to you straight up and let you determine what is best for you.
1. Bovada Sportsbook - 50% Max $250
2. Betonline Sportsbook - 25% Bonus For Life
3. SportsBetting.ag - 25% Bonus For Life
4. Bookmaker - 15% Max $2500
The answer to this question will depend on who you ask. For any type of potential US-based online sports betting opportunities, it seems to always come back to the Federal Wire Act. According to the Department of Justice' interpretation of this law, it prohibits online sports betting. Industry professionals do not agree in most cases, however the DOJ's position has pretty much stamped out any efforts to legalize USA-based options. New Jersey recently attempted to legalize state licensed online sports wagering in their state and they were shot down pretty quickly. It doesn't help that the major professional sports leagues and the collegiate athletic sector all strongly oppose this move. I said all that to say this, I would not hold my breath waiting on the Internet sports wagering options licensed and regulated by the United States to come around anytime soon. Despite this fact, there are some legal sportsbook wagering options available to American players. These come in the way of legally licensed and regulated offshore sportsbooks that welcome USA players and provide an honest and reliable betting experience.
There are a handful of legitimate and secure brands located outside of the United States that are subject to authentic and very strict regulatory oversight and that provide a great gambling experience. There are no federal laws which prohibit bettors in the United States from participating at these types of legally licensed and regulated websites. It is not illegal to bet at these sites. It is illegal however, to place wagers at online sportsbooks which are operated within the United States. We will be closely watching the pending lawsuit in New Jersey to see if they are ever able to officially legalize online sports betting for their residents. If they pull it off, it would open a door for other states to follow suit and for a potential federal piece of legislation that could dramatically change the sports betting landscape in the US.
The Federal Wire Act was enacted in 1961, and was really created to put a stop to illegal bookmaking operations that were at the time, taking bets by phone and operating outside of Las Vegas, the only legal destination for sports betting in up to that time. The language for the law is confusing at best, leaving the definition of 'wire transmission' open for argument. Obviously the Internet was not in place back in 1961, so the law clearly was not attempting to prohibit online betting specifically. There was a strong organized crime presence in the illegal bookmaking industry at the time, and by putting this law in place they were able to start going after those operations more aggressively. Clearly the original objectives of this legislation do not directly correlate with today's sports betting industry. This law has only been used to go after illegal sports betting site operations, and has never been used to go after sports bettors themselves because of the arguable lack of clarity in the language of the law.
In 2011 the DOJ made a statement that the Federal Wire Act does indeed apply to online sports wagering, but does not apply to online poker or casino games. This again is arguable as it implies that 'wire transmissions' has a varying definition across online gambling venues. So far, nobody has successfully bucked the DOJ on their position, but with NJ taking the first step to try, we're hoping this might just be the beginning of a possible revolution that redacts the sports wagering sector of online gambling as the red headed stepchild it has become. The primary affect this law has had on US bettors is simply limiting their wagering options to legally licensed offshore sportsbooks, which so far has worked just fine for me.
The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act which was passed in 2006 was created to place regulatory oversight concerning how online gambling transactions could be processed. It does not target or even address players who participate in online gambling. The law's primary objective was to make the processing of online funds transfers more secure and reliable, and protect all parties from fraud and theft, and it actually has accomplished this. It forced payment processors and gambling site operators to really raise the bar and improve security profiles and procedures. Things are actually safer now. On the down side it did provide just enough hoops to jump through to drive some of the most trusted and popular payment methods out of the US market. This did make things temporarily difficult for players in the USA.
At this point in time, credit cards, debit cards, and prepaid options are the most reliable for American players. The UIGEA bill does not prohibit or criminalize gamblers from participating in online sportsbook betting, poker games or casino gambling. In fact, in the DOJ sting in which several prominent online poker sites were seized and investigated, there were not any players who were targeted in the investigation. Player accounts were temporarily frozen or inaccessible, however most players have received their account funds in full at this point.
Also known as PASPA or the 'Bradley Act', this law was enacted in 1992 to establish the legal status of sports betting in the United States. It prohibits US based sports betting throughout the country with the exception of a few states. Those exceptions included sports lotteries in Oregon, Delaware and Montana, as well as the licensed sportsbooks in Nevada. At the time the law was put in place, it did give a one year period for any other states already involved in the casino gambling industry to legalize sports betting in their respective states if they so desired. The one year grace period was added specifically with New Jersey in mind; however the state did not take advantage of the opportunity. New Jersey recently tried to legalize sports betting for their state, passing the necessary legislation. They were never able to follow through however because they were challenged through a lawsuit which eventually resulted in enforcement of PASPA and enforcement of the US based sports betting ban which the law originally established. This law does not apply to any of the legally licensed offshore sportsbooks recommended in this guide because they are licensed, regulated and located outside of the United States.
In my opinion, and the opinion of a number of industry consultants and professionals, if you limit your wagering to legally licensed and regulated web based sportsbooks that are located offshore, then you are not breaking any type of federal laws. We have not encountered any state laws that expressly prohibit legal offshore sports betting for their residents. There are also no instances in which law enforcement has targeted or prosecuted sports bettors themselves. They have always been more inclined to target any type of illegal gambling operators and not really worry about the players. In fact, the DOJ is responsible for ensuring that the poker players affected by the Black Friday 2011 online poker sting got their money back. As we mentioned in our introduction, we are not lawyers. If you are concerned about the legality of sports betting participation for your specific situation, we recommend that you contact an attorney who understands gambling laws for your state.
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