US Casino Players - Can They Play Online?

The online gambling has certainly grown into huge proportions. There are now hundreds of online casinos that players can choose from. It is now a billion-dollar worth of industry and it is one of the strongest and biggest online industries. It has an established market with millions of people from all over the world logging in on a daily basis. It has also attracted the loyalties of casino players from all countries, including the United States.

The United States and Gambling

The United States has always had supported gambling as an industry. In fact, the gambling industry in the United States is considerably large. With the Sin City devoted entirely to catering the whims of gamblers, the country has been known to be a huge supporter of gambling. In fact, various states have adopted laws in order to expand the gambling within individual states. So, it was a surprising act when the government passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Act of 2006 to restrict - or rather prohibit - online gambling.

The Passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Act of 2006

It was a surprising how this Act was passed the government of the United States. The issue, however, was boiling for a considerable time before the government finally surprised people with the law. Online gambling was becoming quite popular and it raised legal issues and economic concerns within the country. Curiously, the law did not address online gambling as a moral concern. There was no categorical prohibition of the act of gambling online. What was prohibited was the transfer of money to online casinos.

The United States has always toyed with the idea of banning online gambling; and it was only in September of 2006, before the US Congress adjourned for the midterm election, that the Safe Harbor Act was passed by Congress. It was in October 13, 2006 that President George W. Bush signed by bill into law. Interestingly, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Act of 2006 was passed along with this legislation. The Safe Harbor Act was merely intended to curtail terrorism but with the favorable votes given to this Act, the attached law was also passed.

Since its passage, there has been no clarification as to whether or not online gambling is illegal per se. Various interpretations have been given to the Act. So far, there have been no reports of arrests made in connection with violation of the Act.

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Act of 2006 was viewed unfavorably by US players. However, this has not curtailed online gambling. There are still numerous online casinos that accept US players and these casinos have devised methods of deposits in order to facilitate faster and easier transfer of money by US players to the online casino accounts. US players should hope that the US would cave in to the pressure exerted by other liberal countries and the government would opt to restrict rather than prohibit online gambling.