It used to be so simple (or did it?)
In the immortal words of Barbara Streisand (from the movie and single The Way We Were), “Can it be that it was all so simple then?” – looking back, things sometimes seem more straightforward in the past. In the film, Katie (played by Streisand) was referring to the ability of two lovers to overcome entirely different life views. However, the line could equally apply to the American gambling marketing.
For decades, the country’s gamblers had a virtually monogamous relationship with Las Vegas, until Atlantic City and some Louisiana riverboats started to turn a few heads. Then, with changes to federal sports betting bans, the arrival of the internet, and the need for states to find alternative ways to fund spending, gambling seemed to be everywhere.
Gambling liberalization
While gambling is not legal everywhere in the US, it is fairly ubiquitous across the country in one form or another. While Utah and Hawaii are unlikely to ever legalize it, every state has industry lobbyists looking for ways to gain a foothold by creating legal markets or strengthening and expanding what is already available. Even conservative Texas is not a stranger to approaches from the casino gambling industry.
However, when it comes to online gambling, the picture can be pretty confusing for those not au fait with state laws and limitations. Gambling is not regulated at a federal level; however, the Interstate (Federal) Wire Act of 1961 prohibits the transmission of bets and wagers over interstate communications lines. It was designed to combat telephone betting by organized crime syndicates, but now has an impact on online casino gambling and interstate lotteries. If states want to allow players from other states to play poker together, for example, there are a whole host of hoops that have to be jumped through.
State-by-state approach
Every state has a different approach to online gambling. You might expect Las Vegas to be pretty relaxed about it, when in fact it is quite the opposite. While Nevada was one of the first states to legalize online gambling in 2013, it only applies to sports betting and online poker. Online casino gambling for real money in the ‘international capital of gambling’ is outlawed. The reasons for this are multi-layered, but it is mostly due to economics and land-based casino protection. Nevada’s economy is built on physical casinos, and the last thing the state (and the land-based venues) want is tourists gambling from their hotel rooms rather than the casino floors.
Residents and visitors can, however, play at social and sweepstakes casinos. In addition, just when things seemed straightforward, poker can be played across state boundaries thanks to the WSOP online network agreement. The Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement allows Nevada players to compete with those in New Jersey, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. Poker is different from many gambling games because it is a game of skill and requires an opponent.
Helping to iron out confusion
The ins and outs of what is and is not legal can be quite overwhelming. Fortunately, there are online gambling review sites like Casino.org to guide players to the top gambling sites in the US. Because they only review licensed, legal sites, players can guarantee that, by following the recommendations, they will stay on the right side of the law. However, they do not just check for legality; their independent, expert review team is looking for so much more, including great bonuses, extensive game libraries, tiptop customer service, and decent winning chances. They also do not hold back when it comes to advising which online casinos to steer clear of.
Broad overview
As a broad overview, seven states have legalized real-money online casino gambling, including online slots, video simulations, and live dealer versions of casino classics like Blackjack, roulette, and dice games. Players can pull up at the virtual online real money casino in Pennsylvania, Michigan, West Virginia, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Delaware. Social casino games are available everywhere. Sweeps casinos are not covered by gambling regulation but by promotion regulation, and are therefore available in many states; New York and California have recently outlawed them as they regarded them as too close to real-money casino variants.
Online sports betting is much more widespread. At the start of this year, thirty-eight states (plus Washington DC and Puerto Rico) allow for sports betting in some format. In 30 of them, residents can access online betting sites via a mobile app, a computer, or a mobile browser. The market is very fluid, as more states come onboard with the opportunities and legislation is being brought forward all the time. There is no shortage of lobbyists on either side of the argument.
Regulation versus prohibition
However, there is a growing consensus that agrees that just banning or outlawing gambling is not sustainable. Gambling seems to be an inherent part of the human condition. Whatever kinds of games we choose to play – be that casino games, first-person shooter video titles, or role-playing fantasy games like God of War – we will always find a way to access the games we love. While disallowing online gambling might make state authorities feel morally superior, it does not prevent people from finding ways to gamble. This could either be face-to-face or at offshore, unregulated sites.
Those in favor of market liberalization argue that regulated online casino gambling helps control potential gambling harms and brings revenues from taxation and license fees into state coffers. As people are going to gamble regardless, they should do so safely and securely—the arguments against range from the moralistic to the commercial protectionist, and everything in between.
The latest developments
So, as you can see, it is far from simple. However, most people would not want to go back to the way things were, and, quite frankly, the genie is well and truly out of the bottle. One of the biggest attractions at the moment is the rise of live-dealer gambling. Rather than playing a video simulation, players get to face real human dealers and opponents in real time. Because the outcomes of most live dealer games are still based on luck, they are regulated in the same way as other online casinos. However, as if by magic, the action appears to be streamed directly from the casino floor onto players’ mobile devices, and it is mesmerizing.