Gambling Law

Blackjack Card Counting

In today’s blog we’ll be discussing whether casinos can ban card counters. US gambling law is notoriously slippery in this area, as while casinos are classed as clubs and therefore have the right to refuse entry to anyone, outside of Las Vegas, government legislation doesn’t protect casinos from advantage players. In recent years, card counters such as Ken Uston have taken casinos to court over their treatment of advantage players, with a New Jersey court ruling that casinos don’t have the right to ban card counters simply because of their mathematic ability. In today’s blog, we’ll examine a recent card counting court case and discuss some of they key blackjack issues of this year.

The Grand Victoria Casino and Resort in Rising Sun and a coalition of 11 other casinos, represented by the Casino Association of Indiana, are pressing the Indiana Supreme Court to overturn a recent card counting ruling. Back in 2006, Thomas Donovan was banned from the Grand Victoria after dealers found that he was card counting. Donovan was banned from the casino and after a series of court battles, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled that as legislation is not in place regarding card counting, the Grand Victoria had no right to bar Donovan.

It’s been a while, but we’re now returning to the Casino Online mailbag! Every now and then we answer questions from players regarding everything online casino related. We do our utmost to provide the correct answers to your queries and if we can’t help, we’ll discuss the matter with a casino expert who can (just check out our Experts section for more details). Today, we’ll introduce how casino tax statements in the US work and whether you have to pay taxes on online casino winnings.

If you win over $1,200 at a land-based casino, then along with your winnings, you’ll receive a statement known as a W-2G form. A copy of this form also goes to the IRS (the US version of the Inland Revenue) and by law you are required to state your winnings on your next tax return. Experienced gamblers keep records of their gaming activity, meaning they can deduct losses run up before winning and reduce the amount of tax they have to pay. However, some players forget to keep a log, which therefore means the IRS can deduct taxes from the player’s winnings, without counting any losses.

As online casino players will tell you, it’s relatively to easy to get hold of your winnings vs. losses logs and you can easily discuss getting hold of them with customer support. The tricky part is, in the case of US players, figuring out whether you have to pay taxes. A recent Wall Street Journal article has highlighted just how murky the law is surrounding online gambling in the United States. Eva Rosenberg, a journalist at Wall Street Journal, took the matter to the California Franchise Tax Board, who replied that it’s effectively up to the taxpayer to decide whether online gambling is legal or not. This then decides whether winners should have to pay partial taxes (winnings – losses) or a full tax on their winnings, regardless of how much they have lost.

Casino Gambling

A recent study led by Dr Mark Griffiths of Nottingham Trent University, alongside Professor Jim Orford and the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen), has found that players who wager online are more susceptible to what’s known as "problem gambling". Players considered as problem gamblers include those who wager more than they can afford and gamers who feel an urge to wager even though the consequences of their gambling would be overwhelmingly negative. Whilst there’s no agreed consensus on the term, it’s now used more often than “compulsive gambling” and is recognised as a form of addiction.

The study, entitled Internet gambling: A secondary analysis of findings from the 2007 British Gambling Prevalence Survey, found that the level of problem gambling among those who wager in online casinos was 10 times higher than those who wagered in land-based casinos and other gaming venues. The study was also able to pinpoint the differences between online and non-online players. According to the research, online players were likely to be male, young adults, well educated and in professional employment.

Dr. Griffiths suggested that the research shows the need for more online help and support groups for those dealing with an addiction to internet gambling. Griffiths also noted that “gaming companies need to acknowledge they will need to provide even better social responsibility infrastructures online than offline to minimise the harm to problem gamblers.”

If you’re worried you may have a gambling addiction, or would like help with your gambling, then we recommend you contact Gamblers Anonymous.