Best Betting Sites for US Players
Online sportsbetting in the US is more popular than ever. Billions of dollars are wagered every year on everything from football to MMA. There are only a few reputable US sportsbooks out there and we have done the research to recommend what we think are the safest online bookmakers and US betting sites to place your bets.
Sportsbetting and the UIGEA
For those of you who are familiar with the UIGEA, it stands for the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. This act does not specifically address sportsbetting, however the Federal Government still maintains that sports betting is illegal. However, we are a little confused how sports betting is against federal law, but horse betting is completely legal where designated. Find more information for legal online sports betting.
Sportsbook Deposits
If the UIGEA accomplished anything, it definitely caused some disruption when it came to depositing. For the most part, depositing onto sportsbooks by credit card was extremely difficult after the passage of the UIGEA, however the online sportsbooks have been extremely creative in finding ways to allow credit card deposits for US players. In fact, credit cards remain one of the easiest ways to deposit for US players.
Is Sportsbetting Legal in the US?
We are going to be up front and honest here; technically, US online sports betting is not legal thanks to an old law called the Wire Act that was created in 1961. The really weird thing is that the internet wasn’t created until 1969. Regardless, there are plenty of sportsbooks/betting sites in the USA ready to serve the US market and many of them have since the early 1990’s.
Have there been any arrests for Sportsbetting?
We have not seen any cases where players have been arrested for sports betting, however, there have been several owners and operators of sports betting sites who have been indicted. One well known case was David Carruthers who was arrested as soon as he stepped foot in the US. No one knows why he risked coming to the US, since he knew about the indictment. Almost all online sports betting operations are conducted overseas for this reason and most owners are smart enough not to come to the US.