Sports Betting Legal Issues
Online sports betting is one of the biggest forms of internet commerce transactions. Even though sports betting online is still pretty young and was only popularized during the 90s, the amount of money riding on them currently rival the land based business. Many prominent land based bookmakers have recognized the trend and jumped onto the internet bandwagon. Online betting sites offer whopping bonuses to gamblers and offer a wealth of betting options at the flick of a finger. Gamblers can compare odds across bookmakers and buy the bet that best suits their risk appetite.
Sports betting on the internet is so organized and well put together that today a significant portion of sports betting happens via this channel. The convenience of placing bets on sporting events from the comforts of one’s home cannot be understated.
Most online bookmakers also offer a variety of parlay and exotic bets which further enhance the gambling experience and help increase its entertainment value. Sports betting most commonly seen are in football, hockey, baseball and basketball. In the United States football is the highest grosser in dollar terms when it comes to online betting in sports.
Legal Sports Betting Worldwide
The legal status of online sports betting is a little hazy with many countries opting for different standards on the issue. Legal gambling on the web is a bit difficult to pinpoint as sports betting is deemed illegal in several countries. Many other countries have enacted complicated legislation to control the act of gambling to such an extent that its practice becomes nonviable. Legal online betting is more prevalent in the E.U. than in the U.S. However, legislation governing gambling and online betting sports can often get a little complicated and ambiguous in the E.U.
Overall, legal online betting is present in the E.U. The E.U has adopted a positive approach towards online betting sports. Some constituent nations of the European Union have in the past attempted to enact legislation that curb gambling. However, the Union has been quick to react and issue a clamp down on such contradictory legislation. The Union generally stipulates that all member countries must have uniformity in law and taxation; hence, laws which prohibit legal online betting are generally not allowed.
Online Sports Betting in the US
In the U.S. up until recently, laws governing online betting sports have conventionally been ambiguous and hazy. What constituted legal online wagering and what didn’t was a matter of much debate and discussion. This climate has changed to a small extent with the promulgation of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in 2006. This legislation specifically precluded payment processing companies from undertaking any transactions for internet gambling operations, which included online betting sports.
However, online betting for horse races and other fantasy sports have been excluded from the ban. Thus, even though no specific legislation exists to date that specifically bans online betting sports, legislation like the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act has served to put the brakes on most online gambling companies. As such many gambling companies were forced to virtually shut shop and offshore their operations to countries like Antigua and Barbados where gambling and betting legislation’s are still conducive to growth and expansion.
Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act – UIGEA
The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 attempts to clamp down on online gambling on a macro federal level rather than a more granular, state level. This has its limitations. State laws continue to be unclear. Thus, the entire question of legal online betting in the U.S. is still pretty much in an obscure legal mess and it all boils down to which state the player resides in. Currently, states like Louisiana, Nevada, Michigan and Illinois have banned online gambling and online betting sports. States like California, Massachusetts, South Dakota and Utah have banned a few forms of internet betting, while allowing some others.
Several states like Kentucky have banned online betting sports in order to safeguard the economic well being of their land based counterparts and hence preserve revenue. This trend has especially emerged after many online gambling companies were forced to offshore their operations to tax havens due to the inclement legislative climate in the U.S.
US Federal Wire Act (1961)
From another perspective it has been widely held that the Federal Wire Act of 1961 is a federal act and hence, online betting sports must be completely banned in the country. This act prohibits citizens from indulging in online betting sports via telephone and telegraph. But online bookmakers and gambling enthusiasts often complain that the law is draconian and hardly up to date. The restriction on payment processing online put into effect during 2006 was an indirect result of the debate surrounding this transaction. But this has not completely prevented the practice of online betting sports also
Bottom Line for US Players
Although there seems to be much ambiguity for online sports betting in the US. US players should exercise extreme caution when engaging in online sports betting. Unlike online casinos or online poker, online sports betting has been singled out and defined to be ‘illegal’ according to the US Federal Wire Act. There are many US betting sites that accept US based players, however, there are risks to US players and they are advised to completely understand the legal issues before participating in online sports betting.
