US Online Gambling Ban Could Come Again

February 17, 2015 by

US Online Gambling BanIn the United States, one of the most important laws that has affected online gambling is the Wire Act of 1961. This law prohibits sports betting over telephone lines, and it was used to combat organized crime in an era where such a law made sense. For a long time, the Department of Justice held that this law amounted to a US online gambling ban, but they eventually changed their decision around the end of 2011. It’s worth noting that it was never challenged in court, and it’s also worth noting that the wording of the law makes it clear that it’s only talking about sports betting in the first place.

New US Online Gambling Ban in the Works

That hasn’t kept Representative Jason Chaffetz of Utah from introducing a measure that would effectively make the Wire Act apply to all forms of online gambling. It’s pretty much a useless measure that will almost certainly get shot down and never have a remote chance to become law, but it’s really interesting in that politicians are even considering going this route. It also shows a massive disconnect between politicians and what’s really going on in the industry.

The Reality of the Situation

Chaffetz expressed opinions that technology alone cannot solve the problem of underage online gambling. Not only is that completely wrong, it’s been proven so by efforts in states like New Jersey that have their own regulated games. Age and identity verification are a pretty big deal there, and there haven’t been any real reports of underage gambling.

The big problem is that this shows what happens when you have people who don’t understand technology trying to make laws. The premise of his position on underage online gambling is that somehow making it double illegal will keep underage people from doing it. This makes no sense. It’s already illegal for them to do so, and passing another law that ruins it for everyone isn’t going to change anything.

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