FBI View of Internet Casinos

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, it's better not to gamble online. In fact, the FBI states unequivocally that online gambling in the US is simply illegal, no matter what.

This doesn't mean that gambling is illegal in the States, or that it's impossible to gamble online there. It just means that players need to know the rules, regulations, and loopholes before getting started.

The first thing to remember is that, while there are some Federal laws that apply to online gambling, this is an area in which most regulation is left to the states. In some states, like Alabama, gambling is simply illegal altogether. In others, such as Michigan, casino gambling is legal, but only if the casino operator has a state-issued permit to operate the venue. And finally, Nevada and New Jersey have simply legalized casino gambling. In all of the states, Indian reservations can and do set their own gaming regulations, since the tribes are not bound by state or Federal law.

What does this mean for the players?
It means that online gaming is a gray area. Congress passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006, forbidding financial servers from processing payments to online casinos, and the founders of NETeller were arrested under the Act's provisions in 2007, but for the most part, ordinary citizens who gamble online, while they risk losing their casino account to Federal seizure, generally do not court arrest.

This is because Federal laws against online gambling approach the subject from two directions: from the financial end (UIGEA 2006) and from the service provider end (old wire-transfer regulations are used to prevent online casinos from handling bets in the US). The law hasn't caught up with individual gamblers, yet.

So, while the FBI is right to say that online casino gaming is illegal in the US, they are not completely right. But they are the ones who enforce the laws at the Federal level, making their opinion one that counts.