USA Gambling Laws

In 1961 the Interstate Wireline Act (18 U.S.C. section 1084) made it illegal for companies to take bets via wire connections such as phone calls.  Over thirty years later the U.S Department of Justice made an attack on offshore sport gambling sites because they directly violate the Wireline Act.  Then in June of 1999 the National Gambling Impact Study Commission recommended online wagering to Congress.  Another committee proposed the exact opposite.  They claimed that gambling thru the internet should be illegal and convinced Congress to side with their opinion.  

Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona attempted to amend the Wireline Act with the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act of 1997.  The Senate voted on the bill one year later and it passed.  This was a huge set back for the Online Casino Industry.  Luckily the bill was held up in the House due to pressure from special interest groups.  The bill was also found to be too general and may negatively impact the global Internet commerce.

Most online gambling companies are positioned offshore and claim that they are not obligated to follow U.S. laws.  However this only holds true if the host country states that gambling is legal.   

The USA Government disagrees; if the site is specifically targets American residents then courts may have jurisdiction.  In the case against offshore sites the FBI said that their agents successfully opened accounts and made bets from the phone and thru the internet in NY which obviously illegal.