US Path to Legal Gambling: State by State

The United States could actually be on the way to legalized online gambling, after the Obama administration cleared the way this week for states to legalize internet poker and other forms of online betting.

The US Department of Justice released last Friday and opinion dated September which reverses decades of previous gambling policy. Until now, the department said online gambling in all forms was illegal under the 1961 Wire Act, which bans wagers across state lines and international borders.

But the new interpretation released last week said the act applies only to bets on a "sporting event or contest," and not to a state's use of the Internet to sell lottery tickets to adults outside its borders. It is a move experts are calling a big victory for the online gaming community.

Nevada is already in pole position to be the first state to legalize online gambling within its borders, with the state's gambling regulator set to vote Thursday on rules that would allow companies to apply for licenses to run poker websites.

Other states, such as California and Iowa, are also considering laws to legalize online gambling at a state level. Once the facilities are set up, this could easily be adapted to accept betting from interstate - in the event the US allows it.