The American people love gambling in general but the legislation in the country is tricky, especially when it comes to the internet. As a result, many people wonder if there are any legal US betting sites online and the answer is yes.
This guide to US sports betting on the web will explain why and how to find them.
Short History of Online Sports Betting in the US
Gambling in general has a long history in the US but you don’t need to know much about it. The first significant date that concerns the present day is the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) from 1992.
PASPA regulated gambling (including sports betting) on a federal level, so the states couldn’t do much on the matter. They weren’t allowed to operate betting services or provide a license for the same service to private companies, with the exception of Nevada.
The good news is that PASPA was revoked by the Supreme Court in 2018 which opened the door to a lot of changes that concern online sports betting as well.
The main problem with the internet was the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006 that was designed to prevent any online bookmaker that is not registered in the USA to accept American customers.
UIGEA is not targeting players, though, and accepting wagers with betting purposes is not illegal either. The law forbids the sports betting sites to process payments that are related to online gambling.
This awkward formulation of the bill leaves a loophole that many sites and players exploit which leads to the next point.
Using Offshore Betting Sites from the USA
There are plenty of offshore betting sites with a rich history of American players. They are registered and licensed in jurisdictions outside of the country, so they are perfectly legit. And since the US customers are not breaking the law either, using their services has been the way to go for many US players throughout the years.
If you pick a betting site with a solid reputation and a legit company behind it, you can enjoy sports betting without any concerns.
One of the main issues is related to the payment options at your disposal, as some providers don’t process gambling-related transactions from and to the US. The rise of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum provided a boost in this regard, so you should be able to find enough options.
States Where Online Sports Betting Is Legal
The best news is that the Supreme Court decision to revoke PASPA returned the power to the separate states and we’ve already witnessed the results. Some of them have opened the door to legal online gambling for their citizens and started issuing licenses to internet bookmakers.
If you live in New Jersey, Delaware, Mississippi or several other states, you can enjoy perfectly legal sports betting sites.
There are many other locations that seem prepared to allow the same freedom to US players in the near future. At least a couple of more have pending bills and there are public debates in many other places.
The genie is out of the bottle, so one could hope that sports betting on the internet will be completely legal in most of the USA in a few years.
