United States Online Gambling Laws

Updated: 2025

Internet gambling has become one of the largest industries in the world. The United States has a vast, complex marketplace of companies competing to attract customers and offer the best opportunities to win. This page is designed to give you the information you need to know about the laws that govern these sites and how these laws affect your ability to play.

The information on this site is for informational purposes only. We are not lawyers and do not claim to be experts on gambling laws. We're giving you an overview of the federal and state laws that apply to online gambling so that you can be informed before you enter the world of online gambling.

The United States is notorious for passing laws on just about every single industry and having those laws amended, modified, and renewed many times over the years. It's important that you have the most up-to-date information if you want to be a member of the ever-growing world of online gambling.

The federal government is not the only governing body that can make laws regarding the online gambling industry. Each state has its own laws that allow, prohibit, or restrict gambling on land and online. Before you try to start gambling online, you need to make sure that it is legal to do so within the state where you live.

State laws vary and can be confusing at times, as can federal laws. Most of these laws are written by people who know little to nothing about the industry, which can lead to enforcement problems. The laws tend to be vague and leave too much room for interpretation, which can give judges and prosecutors the ability to go on crusades based on their feelings about the subject.

As you browse through this page, you can familiarize yourself with a generous overview of both state and federal laws. The overview includes the possible consequences of violating these laws, as well as where online gambling is allowed and with what restrictions. We hope this page gives you all the information you need to successfully navigate the online gambling industry.

United States Online Gambling

Federal Laws

From the first emergence of online gambling, those in the federal government have found it necessary to enact laws that any business, whether land-based or digital, must follow. Some of the laws that affect the online industry were enacted before the emergence of the online world, but these new forms of gambling still have to follow these laws. Below, we'll give you an overview of the laws that apply to the online gaming industry.

Wire Act of 1961

The first thing you may notice is the date on this law. Yes, it was passed in 1961, long before the invention of the internet and even the thought of online gambling. Despite this, this law has been used many times over the years to make decisions against online gambling.

The Wire Act of 1961 was originally used to work with other anti-racketeering laws such as the Travel Act and others. The law was obviously not written with the online gambling industry in mind, but because of the way it was written, it is still applicable in regulating the industry.

The primary purpose of the Wire Act was to assist the states and territories of the United States in enforcing their gambling and bookmaking laws and to suppress organized gambling. The act has a section that allows it to be used by law enforcement to apply to the newer industry of online gambling.

"Whoever, being engaged in the business of betting or wagering, knowingly uses a wire communication facility for the transmission in interstate or foreign commerce of bets or wagers, or information to assist in placing bets or wagers, on any sporting event or contest, or for the transmission of any wire communication entitling the recipient to receive money or credit as a result of bets or wagers, or information to assist in placing bets or wagers, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both."

In this section of the law when it says that anyone who places a wager or bet using wire communication allows for any law enforcement agency on either the state or federal level to use this law against an online gambling site. However, in 2011 there was a change in the law that changed everything.

The legal opinion released by the Department of Justice in 2011 gave states more authority in deciding how they wanted to handle the online gambling industry. The opinion decriminalized certain forms of gambling that had been illegal in the past. With this change, the DOJ would no longer seek criminal charges against those who play online versions of casino games such as poker, slots, bingo and lottery options. Even with this change, online sports betting was not included and remained illegal.

The amendment has not completely changed the world of online gambling. It doesn't change the fact that a company that provides online gambling options will restrict its players by state if the state they live in has not legalized online gambling then they cannot play.

It also hasn't helped those states that have legalized online gambling to operate without problems. Some of the other laws regarding online gambling are still causing problems for those states that have legalized the industry.

In recent years, there has been a push to reinstate the original Wire Act of 1961. This new bill is called the Restoration of America's Wire Act and was introduced to Congress in 2014 by Senator Lindsey Graham and Jason Chaffetz. This bill is designed to restore the Wire Act to its original state where all forms of online gambling would be illegal.

If RAWA were to pass and become law, it would essentially put an end to the entire online gambling industry. Since it would re-establish that most forms of gambling would be illegal, it would no longer matter if a state had legalized it or not. The bill does have some exceptions, but many of the most popular forms would no longer be available in the online gaming world.

Interstate Transportation of Wagering Paraphernalia Act

Another law passed by the US government in 1961 with the intention of closing the loopholes for the gambling industry came in the form of the Interstate Transportation of Wagering Paraphernalia Act. This act made it illegal to transport any records, paraphernalia, tickets, certificates and bills, slips, tokens, paper, writings, or any other device used in, for, or intended to be used in bookmaking or wagering pools for sports betting.

This law, much like the Federal Wire Act, was enacted long before the time of online betting, but is still very much a part of the business. This law basically makes it illegal to send anything over the Internet, through the mail, or any other means of transmission that can or will be used to place sports bets.

The language used in the writing of the law is so broad that with advances in technology it can still be used as a means to stop online sports betting. Because words like paraphernalia, paper, and device are used, it's up to the courts to determine if the method used falls under any of these classifications. More than likely, any wire transfer or online transaction can and will be considered under one of these categories.

All of the laws we've just discussed can be found in their entirety on the Federal Regulations website. We've given you the summary of the laws with the intent of informing you of the laws that always supersede state law. Regardless of how constitutional these laws may or may not seem, they are still currently in effect and must be obeyed if you don't want to find yourself in federal prison.

UIGEA

The next law we want to talk about is the Unlawful Internet Gambling Act. This law is different from the Wire Act and many others because it doesn't target the players who play the games, but the companies that provide the games and the companies that process the payments to and from the online gambling site.

This bill was able to easily pass both the House and Senate because it was attached to other bills that had widespread support. If that hadn't been the case, this bill might not have become law.

This law does not prohibit players from playing the games. The law was designed to prevent money laundering, fraud and other financial crimes.

This law prohibits online gambling companies from accepting payments from anyone who violates federal or state law. It regulates how payments are made for online gambling transactions. This law basically makes it illegal for a company to accept payments from banks or credit card companies. This causes problems not only for the online companies, but also for the players.

When this bill was signed into law, it caused a mass exodus of gambling sites and payment processors from the US market. This law made it nearly impossible for US players to find an online gambling site that would accept them and allow them to play. This is still a problem today, as most of the brands are offshore companies that don't accept US players.

In the years since the law was passed, the market has stabilized and the use of prepaid accounts, prepaid credit cards, and some digital wallet companies have allowed U.S. players to start playing again.

One good thing that has come out of this law being passed is that the sites that offer online gambling are safer and more reliable for the customers of the site as long as they are operated within the United States. You must remember that this law has no effect on offshore companies that accept US players, so be careful which site you choose to play on.

Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act

The basic purpose of this law is to completely ban online sports betting. Known as PASPA, this law works with the Federal Wire Act to make it illegal for anyone in the United States to place bets on sporting events such as football, basketball, and baseball via the Internet or any other wire transfer method.

However, some sporting events are legal to bet on over the Internet. Sports such as pari-mutuel horse racing and dog racing are some that are exempt from the law.

When the law was first passed, the U.S. government included a grace period for states that had allowed online sports betting to change their sports betting so that they could continue to do so without violating the law. This grace period was primarily for New Jersey, which did not take advantage of this opportunity and has since filed a lawsuit claiming that the law is unconstitutional on its face.

However, some states have sports lotteries that do not fall under the guidelines of PASPA and are still legal for online betting. These states include Delaware, Montana and Oregon. The law also doesn't prohibit US residents from participating in sports betting with an offshore online casino.

There are growing calls to repeal this law, but even if the law is repealed, the use of online means to place bets on sporting events would still be considered illegal due to the Federal Wire Act. The repeal of this law would only legalize sports betting in land-based casinos.

Illegal Gambling Business Act

The Illegal Gambling Business Act was designed to end the involvement of organized crime in the gambling business. This law states that any gambling operation that violates state or local law, has five or more persons conducting its operation, and remains in continuous operation for 30 days or generates more than $2,000 in revenue in a single day can be prosecuted.

This law does not include the bettor as a person who can be found guilty under this law, however anyone who works for the gambling business itself can be. This means that anyone from the owner of the business down to the runners can fall under this law.

This law was written with the intent to be extremely vague, giving the government the ability to bend the rules to enforce the law as they see fit. The continuous operation statement allows them to determine how regularly the so-called illegal activities take place. It also gives them the ability to only have to prove that someone was involved in the illegal operation and not that they knew the activity involved five or more people or that the five people were involved for the allotted 30 day period.

State Laws

Each state in the United States has the right to make and enforce its own laws. These laws do not have a higher level of legality than federal laws, but most federal laws look to state laws to see if they've been violated before federal law is enforced.

Each state has the ability to prohibit its residents from engaging in any form of online gambling. Some states only allow certain types of online gambling, while others have completely legalized the industry. We've gone through the states one by one to determine what the laws are and how they may affect your ability to place bets online. We provide this information for educational purposes only and don't intend for the information to be used for any legal purpose. We are not lawyers, so if you have a problem, you should seek the advice of a licensed attorney.

To determine if an act of gambling is a violation of state laws, there are certain factors used by the states. They are the dominant factor test and what classifies social gambling. Then states must also determine whether the violation falls under the law as a misdemeanor or a felony level crime and whether the crime meets the requirements to be distinguished as a simple crime or an aggravated crime.

The Dominant Factor Test is applied to an activity to determine if it violates state law. This test determines whether a gambling activity is based on chance. If it is determined that chance outweighs actual skill, it is more than likely that the state's gambling laws are violated. Most states have determined that if a game has an element of skill that is required to successfully play the game, then it doesn't violate the law. Not all states use this test, but as you read, you can see which states do and which states don't.

States also divide gambling into different categories and usually have a social gambling allowance. Determining what constitutes social gambling can be tricky, depending on the state. In general, social gambling is when everyone involved in the gambling is on an equal footing. Basically, the people who run the game can't profit from the game any more than a player can.

We've also determined the violation levels for each state, so as you read, you'll know which states you can and cannot play in.

State Pacts and Developments

States that have legalized online gambling know that in order to be successful in the industry, they must have a large pool of players. Since not all states have regulations on this type of gambling and the legal system can sometimes be quite gray when it comes to this industry, states must be careful when accepting players from other states.

Having a compact or other agreement with other states is a great way to legally offer online gambling to residents of other states. This is becoming a new way for states to work together to embrace this great industry in the United States.

In recent years, more and more states have begun working on legislation to regulate the use of online casinos, and we can only hope that if they decide to legalize it, they're willing to work together to make our online gambling industry as successful as that of other countries.

US Friendly Online Casinos

As we've shown you, online gambling is part of a vast gray area in most states, which makes online casinos wary of allowing players from the United States to play at their sites. Over the years, the ability for Americans to play at non-U.S. online casinos has grown, but there are still a large number who don't want the hassle.

We decided to include a list of online casinos that accept US players so that you don't have to look any further than here to find out which sites readily accept players from states that allow online gambling.

These sites include:

Our verdict

The purpose of this page is to help you as an online gambler know for sure if you are playing legally or if you are putting yourself at risk of being charged with a crime in your state.

We have included all 50 states so that you can easily determine which states are friendly to online gambling and which states are hostile to the industry.

You can find out all about the federal laws that affect how the industry is run and what types of gambling are allowed by the federal government.

Always remember that we are not lawyers, so if you think or have any reason to believe that you may be breaking any laws by joining an online gambling casino, make sure you contact a lawyer before you join. That way you will get expert legal advice that will tell you for sure if it's okay to join or not.

We hope you've found everything you need on this page, including your next casino to try. Some of the casinos in our list are top rated and have amazing sites to play on, so do your research and find one that's right for you.