US Online Sportsbooks – US Online Sports Betting
Online Sportsbetting in the US
I’m going to be blunt here and tell you straight up the answer to the question. Yes it is illegal to bet at sportsbooks online if you’re from the United States. Reason being, some really, really old law called the Wire Act that was enacted in 1961. Guess what? The internet wasn’t born until 1969 which shows how horrible this law and why the following commences.
Despite what I just said billions are bet at online sportsbooks from the US every year. Huge operators take bets from the US, and reputable ones at that such as those I mention below. They’ve had many years experience finding payment solutions for their US players and won’t be going anywhere. It’s just one of those things the US government can only control so much.
2. Bodog.com
The UIGEA & Sportsbooks
The “Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act” which created the biggest stir in the industry really had no affect on sports betting. The United States never defined what was “illegal gambling” there it remained that only sportsbetting was illegal. It never gave clear clarification as to real money poker in the US or US online casinos.
Depositing at Sportsbooks
One thing it did do was cause some major payment processors to shutdown. Sportsbooks were quick to react and while I’m not agreeing with how they now process transactions, they simply un-code them to make them “non gambling” related. Credit cards still remain an easy way to deposit for players from the US.
In fact if you were to go to a poker room, casino or a sportsbook you’d likely have the most success depositing at a sportsbook because they’ve had so many years adjusting to the law and reforming the way the handle your money going in and out. Heck most people probably don’t know or care that it’s illegal to bet on sports online while in the United States.
This is another reason while you’ll see advertisements for poker sites and not sportsbetting sites. The legal reasons. Poker is legal to advertise as long as they advertise the .net extension of the poker room because it does’n’t have links to real money games.
Has Anyone been Arrested for Sportsbetting?
There really hasn’t been any sportsbettors to be arrested for placing bets online that I know of. Unfortunately there have been indictments of operators of online sports betting sites. David Carruthers is one well known name who was nabbed by the US government as he stepped off a plane. It’s really his own fault for being in the United States. Same for the ex-owners of the payment processor, Neteller. They handled sports betting deposits and withdraws and were also indicted in the US.
US Online Sportsbooks and their Future
So as years pass it still remains in the US government there is no such thing as a legal online sportsbook for US players. Despite the fact that anyone who knows their stuff could argue that betting on sports is actually quite the skill.