Gambling in the US has had a long and turbulent history, from prohibitions at certain times to significant legal protection. Now, however, some forms of online casino gaming and sports betting have taken off in certain states; others still hesitate to gamble online due to security and loss of personal information issues; this article seeks to answer this question as well as provide some tips on minimizing risks.
Early days of internet gambling were marked by unrest. With its rise to prominence came new gambling sites that sought to bypass prohibition or other government restrictions by operating from offshore jurisdictions and accepting wagers via credit cards; such sites seemed like they provided an end run around traditional laws. Although attempts were made at solving this problem with legislation like the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act of 1999, none was successful in doing so.
After this initial wave, online gambling became more widely practiced across states; some started regulating it while many still did not have laws in place regulating it. Congress began revisiting the issue of Internet gaming and eventually passed legislation designed to address concerns surrounding it in mid-2000s.
These new laws were intended to address online sports gambling specifically; however, many also touched upon other forms of gambling. A 2011 reinterpretation of the Federal Wire Act enabled sports betting across state lines without sportsbooks receiving wagers from within the country; other legislation sought to regulate and tax online gambling businesses while still permitting them to operate freely.
As a result of legislative efforts, no states currently ban online gambling outright; Utah and Hawaii continue to prohibit all forms of gambling activities, while most other states limit or only permit casino play at licensed establishments. Regardless, legislators have made increasing efforts to legalize more forms of online gambling because these moves generate millions in state coffers while decreasing social problems caused by problem gambling.
Some states are going the extra step of providing their residents with a fully regulated online casino experience, like Colorado has done since May of 2020; their first regulated casino will likely open by 2022. Conversely, Florida remains resistant to online casino play and may take years before providing residents the ability to bet real money on their favorite games; Rhode Island quickly followed in Florida’s footsteps and will have their iGaming market up and running by March 1 2024.