You’d think Casino Betting Laws would be simple enough to understand, but some states are more progressive than others when it comes to iGaming (like in New Jersey, where all kinds of online casino and sports betting platforms and games are allowed).
Other states have strict gambling laws. For example, some states prohibit certain types of gambling, impose a certain age requirement for punters.
Legality
US gambling laws are a tangled mess of federal, state and tribal laws. For some states, online gambling is banned entirely, and so are daily fantasy sports tournaments, while about a dozen states restrict online casino play to lottery games that are legal in each of those states, and a few others allow and regulate online poker and sports betting. Does anyone hear sane regulation calling? Yep. None of this matters from a legal standpoint to US players since there are plenty of legal online gambling options for those living in the US.
As the legal landscape for online gambling evolves in reaction to consumer preferences and technological advances, all stakeholders – including consumers – need to be cognisant of the changing environment and responsive to shifts in it.
New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania and West Virginia have built giant leads on the rest of the US by establishing licensed sites offering casino games, sports bets and so on, for our amusement. By facilitating more of the economic benefits of legalised gambling while affirming hard-fought, statutory limits on issues like access (extensive geo-location rules), commercial predation, problem gaming and outright addiction – and that’s just for starters – they’re already setting the example that most states are likely to follow. And that is what an exciting and challenging future of US online gambling might look like!
Regulation
Online gaming (or ‘iGaming’) is regulated by legal precedent that falls under both federal and state legislation. Additionally, regulatory initiatives protect players, establish responsible gaming conditions and grow gaming experiences. If you require a Las Vegas casino attorney, you can rely on them for the best service.
The interstate game operated under law at the federal level – the Wire Act of 1961 and the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) are both federal laws that outline how online gaming works in the US. These regulations have choked off funds to unlawful gambling operations by forcing payment processors to know who their clients are.
Still, with these restrictions in place, the industry flourishes to this day, after the 2018 Supreme Court case struck down PASPA (the federal law prohibiting sports betting). Questions still remain about what sorts of federal regulation are necessary – possible solutions here include lowering the age limit; standardising advertising practices and protections for players; and requiring iGaming companies to support national health charities, or to work with local law-enforcement agencies.
Taxes
Gambling is a widely popular hobby and industry that reaches incredible heights. Whether it is on sports or at casinos, the growth has been unparalleled when it comes to gambling and betting. State tax revenues gained through legislating sports betting and casinos have reached billions to be spent on education, health are and public infrastructure, while all winnings must be reported in your yearly income tax return as they are is taxable revenue.
If you’ve won money gambling – whether it’s in the lottery or at a casino – you should report that win on your tax return. You should also keep receipts for your gambling losses, which can be used to offset wins. If you’re a professional gambler, you may be able to claim certain types of gambling expenses.
In general, advice on gambling taxes is an uphill battle. For example, the IRS has advised that the session method may be used to calculate gambling winnings (eg, at a slot machine) but has not provided guidance on the applicability of the session method to other forms of gambling, such as poker.
Reliability
Just as in real life gambling, online gamblers must understand the legal frameworks governing them in each state if they ever want to preserve their bankroll and keep losses at bay. In order to do that, players need a source of information that tracks changes in regulations across the various states, and the differences between their frameworks.
But while the gambling sector has made progress in terms of tackling addictions and harm – through the services I mentioned before, as well as recent debates about player protection and the need to enhance problem gambling prevention – there is more work to be done. Firstly, if we want to progress public health services to treat problem gambling, we need to make sure that the gambling operator levy is statutory – that means setting the expectations that all operators should contribute towards service delivery. Another matter could be more frictionless checks on player protection. Gamblers often lose a lot of money before they recognise they have a problem and, if they did it in less than £500 every week, that is for good reason.
