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I. Federal
Attempts to
Regulate
II. Current Fed.
Law
III. Current
State Law
IV. Cases
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Current State Laws
Due to the current lack of truly relevant federal legislation, much of the prohibition or regulation of online gambling occurs at the state level. This is intuitive, since regulating gambling has historically been largely left up to the particular states. Laws regarding internet gambling vary considerably from state to state: while some states have attempted to crack down on internet gambling using general anti-gambling legislation, others have passed legislation specifically directed at online gambling. Due to the great amount of variance in state law some examples of differing schemes are set out below.
- Complete Prohibition: Utah and Hawaii both completely prohibit all forms of gambling within their states, and this prohibition extends to both gambling operations and individual bettors. In fact, Hawaii’s legislature has urged Congress to pass federal regulation similarly banning online gambling.
- Internet Gambling Legislation: at least five states have legislation that specifically addresses internet gambling: Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Oregon and South Dakota. Illinois and Louisiana criminalize both the online bettor and the online casino operator, with bettors in Louisiana facing a $500 fine and up to six months in prison and operators facing a $20,000 fine and up to five years.
- Regulation: In 2001 Nevada began taking steps to legalize online gambling sites within its borders while maintaining licensing and regulation measures over the sites. However, before the regulations could be implemented the legislature required acknowledgment that the law would comport with federal law. An inquiry with the Department of Justice (DOJ) resulted in a letter from the DOJ stating that it considered online gambling to be in violation of federal law, ending the hopes of regulating the industry in Nevada.
- General Anti-Gambling Legislation: many states do not have specific laws explicitly governing online gambling, but some of the states that have addressed the issue have chosen to enforce general laws governing gambling against online operators. Missouri, Minnesota, and New York have each brought successful actions against out-of-state internet gambling websites under general anti-gambling state laws. Florida, on the other hand, reached an agreement with Western Union that required it to refuse to process fund transfers to internet gambling operators.
Resources:
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INTERNET GAMBLING