Many rumours have circulated that gambling online in casinos is, in fact, illegal. This myth, which is quite common, has the potential to discourage a lot of people from playing their favourite games online, and indeed prevent new players from attempting to try out games. The fact of this myth could not be further from the truth because there is no U.S. federal law against gambling online. Even though the rumours that have circulated are in some way founded because of the legalities that surround the running and advertising of a website that accepts wagers, players can actually relax and take peace in knowing that there are absolutely no legal issues whatsoever with them gambling online and they can do so at their own leisure without the risk or worry of committing any crimes.
Gambling laws and regulations within the gambling industry are certainly not easy to understand and even the most experienced of players can get confused. In order to fully understand online gambling laws, players and individuals really need to look on a state by state basis. The reason is because there are specific gambling laws that do, in fact, vary from one to another. There are definitely differences in the legality of making and taking bets and also in facilitating payments to online casinos and advertising on websites. And there are constantly new legal challenges.
The only possibility for players to run into legal issues, when gambling online, is if they place bets on sports games.
Placing wagers online will not result in any repercussions and it is important to remember that this is merely a myth. In order to prevent any issues, be diligent and the best advice to give to players to prevent any legal implications is to always read the Terms and Conditions of each and every casino you choose to play at. Ensure the Terms and Conditions are read before registering and probably the most important thing to factor in before registering is to ensure that you are legally allowed to gamble in the country that the casino is licensed in. Also, ensure to review their policies, so that there are absolutely no legal issues that you can run into with the casino.
The myth that gambling online is not legal is only founded on tangible evidence. However, there are legalities that strictly surround online casinos and their ability to accept wagers and to advertise their services. All online casinos obviously need to have a proper license in order to operate, but that is not all. They all also need to follow rules that are mandated by the country in which they are operating, since by doing so they eliminate the risk of breaking any laws.
There are states in the United States that are currently not granting online gambling licenses to online casinos, and this stigma is what causes many people to believe that online gambling is not legal in the United States. Due to the fact that some states are not issuing online gambling licenses, most of the more popular gambling sites are based out of and licensed to international locations. These specific international locations accept players from the United States as members. In further addition to this, it is also said that search engines and websites that are based in the United States, for example, search engines like Google, cannot accept advertisements for virtual casinos. This is so that players from the United States who are visiting websites might be under the assumption that gambling online is not advocated by the law in their country.
The bottom line is that online casinos and site operators still accept American players. Also, international financial parties have continued to process their transactions. The facts show that the legality is constantly changing and there have been certain attempts to declare online wagering against the law. But, for now, US citizens who simply place bets online are in the clear and fully abiding by the law. So, if you are keen on trying out online gambling, but have not yet done so because you are too worried about any legal repercussions that might come as a result of your activities, as a result of the myth, then there really is no need to worry! As long as you make sure you are at least the minimum legal age to gamble – which could be 18 years or 21 years or even different, depending on what country you reside in and to what country the casino is licensed in; this information can be found in every online casinos Terms and Conditions – then you are safe. Also, ensure that you are only placing your wagers online using payment methods that are valid and, more importantly, that they belong to you and are in your name. Another important thing to remember to be safe is to ensure you are not engaging in any sports-related betting, either online or betting by phone. Stick by these rules and rest assured that your gambling activities are perfectly legal.
EU legislation is slightly different when it comes to gambling online. On the 15th of November, 2011, the European Parliament voted in favour of a report. The report argues for greater cooperation in the regulation of gambling online across the entire European Union. In the absence of the European legislation, member states are able to regulate this complex area very differently, many of them even choosing to impose such restrictions on foreign operators’ activities, thereby restricting cross-border trade. Now it is widely recognised that such restrictions will conflict the freedom provided by the EU law and online gambling. Since the report was issued, the UK has been considering the introduction of restrictions on online gambling operators by introducing new tax and regulatory burdens this would ultimately result in many online gambling operators closing its doors. The report that was favoured had an overarching argument that was for greater coordination in the regulation of online gambling across the EU. Its recommendations range from a call for a European Directive on consumer protection and betting fraud to a request for common standards on licensing. Since the Gambling Act was introduced in 2005 (but came into force in 2007), the UK has been the most open gambling market in the EU. Under this regime, operators that are registered in other EEA Member States, Gibraltar or ‘white list’ jurisdictions – namely, Tasmania, the Isle of Man and Alderney – are allowed to offer gambling services to UK citizens and are lawfully allowed to advertise their services in the UK, but are subject to certain advertising rules.
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MYTH #5 – RIGGED SOFTWARE
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