Controversy In Internet Gambling Regulations

By Author: Chesh
Total Articles: 10
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The enormous pace at which internet gambling sites have mushroomed on the web has raised a concern among governments and legal professionals over the legality of these sites. It is estimated that the internet currently has over 2000 internet gambling sites with over 20 million frequent users.

The controversy behind internet gambling laws specifically game to light in 2006. While it was evident that gambling as an act is illegal in most states of USA, with the exceptions of Nevada and areas under the rule of Native American reservations, whether or not internet gambling is illegal was the big question.

In Italy and Belgium, the governments chose to regulate and tax the trade of internet gambling as against deeming it illegal. The European Union set Italy, Germany, Hungary, Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark and Finland opened the option to conduct state lotteries and sports betting online. Statistics show that there are nearly 1 million internet gamblers in Great Britain alone, making it the largest internet gambling market in all of Europe.

The controversy behind internet gambling laws in USA gives impetus ...
... to the ‘Wire Act’ which states that it is a federal felon if an individual or organization accepts wagers over any device which utilizes the telephone wires (the internet). Every activity on the internet travels through our conventional phone lines in some form or the other. Hence, the US Government is of the belief that any bet placed from the US, even if the bet is outside the territory of the United States, violates the Wire Act.

Recently, a number of states in the United States are dealing with the controversies around internet gambling sites who have found loopholes around the laws to continue operations. Many software companies and internet gambling site developers have tried to work their way around the Wire Act., by setting up offshore casinos and then supplying a bandwidth.

State governments in the United States are now getting proactive towards regulation of internet gambling activities. Nevada known to be the first state that legalized gambling online also became the first state to ban it. In contrast to this, a recently made decision in the District of Louisiana stated that ‘internet gambling on a game of chance is not prohibited conduct under the Wire Act’.

With all the uncertainty around internet gambling laws and regulations, what we know for sure is that gambling online is risky and now is a good time to hold on to your pockets.

Get into the world of internet gambling at the ease of your home. Its popularity is responsible to move many entrepreneurs into the mainstream.