Online Casino - General Legal Issues
The increasing growth of online gambling industry surpasses all
the expectations when compared with land-based casinos and
betting places. From the times when Internet Casinos, Inc., the
first virtual online casino started operations back in 1995
until nowadays, not only the effects of online wagering on the
established land-based industry came up, but also the need of
broadening gambling laws and regulations.
Most of the online casino companies are located outside of the
United States to avoid government prosecution because the United
States Federal Appeals Courts has ruled about the Federal Wire
Act prohibiting electronic transmission of information for
sports betting across state lines, but there is no a specific
law prohibiting gambling of any other kind. In fact, several
states rule in favor of land-based gambling but having specific
laws against online gambling of any kind.
While the internet has no frontiers, gambling seems to be ruled
by physical country delimiters-boundaries. Gambling is legal and
regulated in Caribbean Nations and most European countries, such
as Malta and the United Kingdom from where wide arrays of online
casinos operate.
However, in America, law says that owning an online casino or
gambling related business without getting a license first may
result as an illegal act, but if any individual would be willing
to get one, however there are no states nationwide that are
currently granting online gaming licenses, and regulations vary
from state to state.
Government of Antigua and Barbuda, which licenses Internet
gambling entities, sent a complaint to the World Trade
Organization regarding the U.S. government's actions forbidding
online casinos and gambling activities. They won the preliminary
ruling but later the Word Trade Organization's appealed and
partially reversed such ruling in April 2005.
The appeals panel decision allows state laws prohibiting
gambling in Massachusetts, Louisiana, Utah and South Dakota, but
ruled that the United States may be violating global trade rules
as well, coming as the result of the American laws regulating
horse-racing bets because equitably to foreign and domestic
online betting companies is not applied.
With this panorama, online casinos await ruling; decision full
of ambiguities as the global gambling online regulations. The
Caribbean panel held that several online gambling restrictions
imposed under American regulations have been inconsistent
related to the trade services agreement with the body's GATS.
The economics of online casinos are amazing in comparison with
land-based casinos costing up to $300 million to build, while
online the cost can be as little as $1.5 million, but US Federal
Laws insist to say that gambling is "risking anything of value
for a profit whose return is to any degree contingent on
chance".
On the other hand, traditional casinos may employ thousands of
individuals, while an online casino is easily operated by less
than 20 and not necessarily located in the same place, causing
an economic impact due to the loss of jobs; so many people
believe the regulation benefits the national workforce.
Except for the gambling sponsored by the state, including
riverboat gaming, horse racing and lotteries, an online casino
is forbidden all over the United States.