Relaxed lottery, pari-mutuel, and casino laws swept the country, from the new gambling Mecca of Atlantic City to tribal gaming’s origins at the end of that decade. Since that time, state law related to gambling has continued to evolve. Some US states have gone so far as to outlaw online. Speaking of online gambling, the Government of the US have been relatively slow to react to Internet gaming operations. As a matter of fact, the first gabling websites started to appear in the early to 1990s, and at this time there was no official gambling law or even set of guidelines in order to impose a certain regime on such websites used by local players.
Gambling throughout the US is a very popular activity. Every US state has its own gambling laws with some favoring gambling while others are very much against it. US online casinos have become one of the best options for gamblers because they offer convenience and other perks that land-based casinos don’t. However, the US government has specific US online casino laws and we are going to help you understand these US online casino laws.
Even though the US is regarded as the 'land of the free' this is not entirely true when it comes to online casino gambling, because in certain parts of the US online gambling is illegal where as in other parts it is legal. But these US online casino laws have not stopped online casino players from gambling online. The US has still got the biggest online gambling market in the world!
Online Casino Law Us
Receiving and making money is what makes any business a business. So in online casinos you would think this is easy to add money to a casino account, but if you live in the US this is not the case. Why is it so difficult for players in the US to make deposits to their online casino account? It is the 'land of the free' is it not? Well since it is quite difficult for US players let us explain what happened so you can then see how to deal with your predicament.
So what happened in the US?
In 2006 the United States Senate passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (commonly known as the UIGEA) on the last possible day that they could do it (quite sneaky). The Bill surprised many people because it managed to get passed. The people most shocked were of course the folk in the online gambling industry which is worth billions of dollars. As a result many online casino companies left the US market and some payment processors closed down too. So how did they manage to pass the Bill? The Bill was attached to the SAFE Port Act by Senator Frist which many felt was very important and so they couldn’t vote against it. Many that voted for it didn’t even know that the UIGEA was attached to the SAFE Port Act. How incredible is that? As mentioned before this was a very sneaky move. So what is the UIGEA?
What is the UIGEA?
The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, in simple terms, puts the pressure and responsibility on the financial institutions like the credit card companies and the banks from processing 'illegal' gambling transactions to and from online gambling companies. It was very, very difficult to implement and as a result took many years to come into affect (June 2010 to be exact), which is about 3 and a half years after the UIGEA was passed. What the banks had to figure out for themselves was what an 'illegal' gambling transaction was because there is no Federal law that defines it. This is quite incredible right? We will pass a law but we won’t help you to enforce it.
Us Online Gambling Law
What has the impact been?
If you are a US online casino player you will have noticed on many occasions where you either could not deposit money into your casino account or your withdrawal took a long time to come through. This is the impact the UIGEA has had on online casino gambling in the US. Also many online casino groups left the US market but some have stayed. So your options are limited to the few online casinos (most are powered by RealTime Gaming software). Microgaming software and Playtech software powered casinos have left the US market until the US online casino laws change. Basically, the online casinos stay ahead of the law by finding new and innovative payment processors to help with this deposit/withdrawal issue. Remember, the US online casino law is designed to put the responsibility on the payment processors, so nothing has changed for the casinos or for players. However, in Washington State they have added another US online casino law that singles out players. So if you live in Washington State, then don’t take a chance at online casino games. Also one thing to note… the banks and financial institutions do have bigger worries these days so pursuing you is not on their priority list. They do enough to keep themselves out of trouble and keep the government happy.
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What can a US player do about this?
All a US online casino player can do is to carry on playing, but the online casino options are limited. As mentioned before, the biggest and most reliable software provider is RealTime Gaming (RTG) and the casinos that use their software all accept US players. The online casinos you see advertised on this website, welcome US players are they are safe to play at.
United States Online Casino
The US online casino laws will eventually change again and they will changed for the better, it is just a time factor for US players and the casino operators.