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Just as quickly as US residents' ability to gamble online were dealt a blow last April they received a significant boost before Christmas.
For this we have to, for once, give thanks to the US Department of Justice. This is because after many years the DoJ has expressly determined what they consider to be illegal online gambling and it turns out that this is only sports betting.
This means that poker, bingo and most importantly online casinos are all legal under federal law and can be played interstate and even internationally.
Leading expert on US online gambling law Professor I. Nelson Rose shared his thoughts on the announcement and what it actually meant. He explained that it means that once a specific game is made legal by a state it can be played in that state as long as the operators are also in that state.
However it soon gets more complex as the issue of interstate gambling arises. While it currently remains a grey area, Rose revealed that operators will undoubtedly be pushing for interstate gaming.
He said: "Once these jurisdictions open their online games, even if limited to players who are physically within the state, operators will push for compacts to allow interstate poker among the legal states."
As always, all of the major fuss is regarding poker but if that gets the go ahead then legal US online casinos are sure to be not too far behind.
Information courtesy of Professor I. Nelson Rose at GamblingAndTheLaw.com. © Copyright December 24, 2011, I. Nelson Rose, Encino, California. All rights reserved worldwide. Gambling and the Law® is a registered trademark of Professor I. Nelson Rose, www.GamblingAndTheLaw.com. http://www.gamblingandthelaw.com/blog.html.
