With the growth of online gambling in the United States, laws were always going to come into question, and the fact is that laws that are currently in place do little to clarify the situation for anyone wanting to gamble online. There are laws in place that forbid companies operating an online gambling establishment in the US, unless it is regulated by that state (of which there are 3 at present) and there are also laws that attempt to stop financial institutions making transactions to online wagering establishments. The UIGEA law that passed in 2006 does very little to clear anything up about the legality of online gaming, in many peoples eyes it did confuse things even more and the fact is that no-one has ever been prosecuted for wagering online. Thousands upon thousands of people in the US wager online everyday, in online casinos, poker rooms and indeed sportsbooks. A few states have seen the clear benefits of allowing their residents access to online gambling of one form or another, and have taken action to regulate it themselves. Although slow getting off the ground, all across the US states are looking at online gambling in a whole different way, with many embracing it. Existing online sites will of course remain available to the US residents, and this simply presents other options for them...depending on your state of residence.
Online Gaming in Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware
Although three states have made headway into regulating and providing online gaming themselves, the only state at present that offers regulated online gambling is Nevada. Nevada began offering online poker in April 2013 and as yet there is just the one site, Ultimate Poker, and to be able to play online poker there you need to be 21 years old and physically located in the state of Nevada. Many companies own licenses to operate online poker in Nevada, however, with such a small population opportunities for business development and growth are limited. New Jersey has also legalized online gambling and this is expected to be launched in November 2013 with 37 companies holding licenses. Delaware has also passed laws that permit online gambling and their offering will be coming later this year. Many other states are in the consideration process of legalizing online games with California the most prominent of those states. There are also bills being presented to legalize the whole thing at a Federal level, but as of yet there has been no serious consideration in Washington. The regulation of online gaming by these states provides another revenue stream for them, as of course taxes will be paid on the offerings, and as time goes by more and more states will seriously consider doing the exact same thing. Until then, the fully regulated existing offerings more than satisfy the requirements.
