Betting on sports is one of the most entertaining activities, especially for people who are enthusiastic fans of specific sports teams. Today, many people like placing bets on the internet since that offers them a higher level of convenience. You don’t have to step out of your house, and you will not need to get dressed for a night in the casino.
If you have tried placing bets on the internet before, you may have noticed that most sportsbooks do not accept players from the USA and its territories. Nevertheless, this has changed over the past few years. In this article, we will look at the sports betting scene in the USA.
Sports betting tips and strategies from expert sports handicappers that will help you learn how to win money betting on sports.
Contents
Sports Betting Is Legal in Many States
Historically, two laws have restricted gambling in the USA. The first one is the Professional and Amateur Sport Protection Act (PASPA). This particular law made it illegal for sportsbooks to operate in the USA, but a few states were exempted from the requirement.
One of these states is Nevada, and its exemption was because it already had legislation allowing sports betting in the country. The other states include Delaware, Montana, and Oregon. These three states also had their laws on sports betting, but theirs were not very wide.
For example, Delaware only allowed its residents to place bet parlays on NFL games.
Another law that restricted sports betting in the USA is the Interstate Wire Act of 1961. This was passed long before the internet age and was primarily meant to prevent sportsbooks from engaging in telephone betting. Still, legal professionals have stated that the law also applied to online betting.
However, as of 2019, the PASPA Act was declared unconstitutional and revoked. This means that all states are now allowed to set up their legislation regarding sports betting. States can also enact legislation on online sports betting.
Some states, which have already set up laws to allow online sports betting, including New Jersey, Delaware, Mississippi, West Virginia, New Mexico, Rhode Island, New York, and Oregon. Since most locations don’t want to have their residents moving to neighboring countries to place bets on sports, it is safe to say that almost all places will have bookmakers soon.
You can place bets with online bookmakers that have already set up their business in your state. The issue of interstate gambling has not been touched yet and is still a grey area of the law.
For now, you can sign up with casinos that are authorized to operate in your state. Some of the popular sportsbooks in the country include MyBookie, GT Bets, BetOnline, and YouWager.
You Can Bet on Almost All Sports That Are Played Professionally
Online sportsbooks are usually developed to reach customers from all around the world. Major sportsbooks will only restrict a few countries.
Because of their need to appeal to a wide range of gamblers, they usually include most of the major sports in the world. It would even be easier to make a list of professional games that are not covered in online casinos. Some international sportsbooks, which accept USA players, include Bet365 and Bovada.
Criminalization of Online Gambling Does Not Necessarily Impact Players
As noted on Free Advice Legal, all states have some laws that are meant to prevent illegal bookmakers from operating in their locations. These laws vary from state to state, and about 25% of the places will not prosecute players for engaging in illegal online gambling. This means you can place bets on any site that accepts US players.
It is worth noting that, even in places where betting is criminalized, people do not usually get arrested for placing bets. This would be ineffective for the government, and that is why they mostly target the providers of the services.
That being said, you should be wary of sportsbooks that are not authorized to operate in your state. BBC has mentioned that although the odds of illegal sportsbooks are attractive, you will not have legal recourse if the sites turn out to be frauds.
If you have to place bets on sites that are not explicitly stated to be legal in your place, you should make sure they have a reputable license. Some of these licenses include the UKGC and the Malta Gaming Authority license.
You Can Make Deposits with Bitcoin
Bitcoin is the most popular cryptocurrency in the world, so it should not come as a surprise that some sportsbooks in the USA accept deposits made with this currency. As noted in NJGamblingFun, sites like Draftkings have started accepting Bitcoin and USD as the operating currencies.
The advantage of Bitcoin is that the transaction fees are very low. The sites also allow you to deposit smaller amounts of money with Bitcoin, and this can be advantageous for the infrequent or casual gamblers.
5Dimes, a sportsbook based in San Jose, also accepts payments made in Bitcoin, and it can take bets of 50 cents.
Some States Don’t Have a Minimum Gambling Age
The legal gambling age is determined at the state level. Most states have set the lower limit at 18, but a few have it at 19 or 21. Gambling Age indicated that some states do not have a legally defined age limit for gambling, so anyone can log into a sportsbook website and place a wager.
However, most websites require you to be at least 18 years old to place bets with them. In addition, it would not be wise to lie about your age when signing up with a site since it may keep your deposits once they find out you are underage. You can check the legal gambling age of the various places in their terms and conditions.
Conclusion
If you don’t like sitting in casinos or sports betting shops, you will be happy to learn that various states are loosening their online gambling laws. Soon, most states will have legalized sports betting, and that means you will be able to place bets online.
Before signing up with a sportsbook, make sure you check whether or not they have an internationally recognized license. Also, make sure the site you choose uses the latest encryption technology since you will need to provide many of your data. The various sportsbooks offer different banking options, so you should ensure that you select one that suits your preference.
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