Excerpt:
"....Is online gambling legal?
The Justice Department says it's not.
Under the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations, the agency has argued that Internet gambling is illegal under a 1961 law which prohibits gambling over the "wires," although it has been reluctant to test its theory in court.
That's because judges, perhaps, have issued differing opinions on Internet gambling.
The most significant finding came in 2002 from the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, which ruled that it's only against the law to bet on sports over the Internet. Casino games are fine, the court said.
The matter is further complicated by the World Trade Or-ganization, which insists that U.S. gambling policies adhere to international trade agreements.
"Basically, it's a mess," said Martin D. Owens, a Sacramento attorney and online gambling law expert.
Owens offered an example: "Say we got an online poker room and one guy is from Australia, one is from New York, one is from California and the server is in Antigua. Now, who has jurisdiction? I haven't gotten a straight answer to that in five years."
The complexity has forced anti-gambling interests in Washington to alter their tactics.
They once focused on passing a ban.
Instead, they're going after the financing. A bill introduced this year by Rep. Jim Leach, R-Iowa, would outlaw the use of U.S.- based bank checks or credit cards to pay gambling debts, potentially a big blow to the industry because online gambling sites rely almost exclusively on credit cards for payment........"
(This article is one week old, but still relevent)
Full article:
http://www.modbee.com/local/story/12435857p-13157812c.html
"....Is online gambling legal?
The Justice Department says it's not.
Under the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations, the agency has argued that Internet gambling is illegal under a 1961 law which prohibits gambling over the "wires," although it has been reluctant to test its theory in court.
That's because judges, perhaps, have issued differing opinions on Internet gambling.
The most significant finding came in 2002 from the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, which ruled that it's only against the law to bet on sports over the Internet. Casino games are fine, the court said.
The matter is further complicated by the World Trade Or-ganization, which insists that U.S. gambling policies adhere to international trade agreements.
"Basically, it's a mess," said Martin D. Owens, a Sacramento attorney and online gambling law expert.
Owens offered an example: "Say we got an online poker room and one guy is from Australia, one is from New York, one is from California and the server is in Antigua. Now, who has jurisdiction? I haven't gotten a straight answer to that in five years."
The complexity has forced anti-gambling interests in Washington to alter their tactics.
They once focused on passing a ban.
Instead, they're going after the financing. A bill introduced this year by Rep. Jim Leach, R-Iowa, would outlaw the use of U.S.- based bank checks or credit cards to pay gambling debts, potentially a big blow to the industry because online gambling sites rely almost exclusively on credit cards for payment........"
(This article is one week old, but still relevent)
Full article:
http://www.modbee.com/local/story/12435857p-13157812c.html
