The legal aspect of online gaming therefore depends not only on the online casino that has been licensed and registered to a specific jurisdiction; it also depends on the laws governing online gaming in the country of the gambler. North America, specifically Quebec in Canada has the Kahnawake Gaming Commission. This organization licenses a large number of online casinos and charges some $15,000 plus an annual license fee of $10,000.

The USA as a case in point

The most contentious country with respect to legality is the USA. With so much hype around measures such as the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006 and the Wire Act of 1961, these concerns are fully validated. However the wording of these laws in the USA has led to even more questions. For online casinos, the USA represents a significant part of the market and these online companies are lobbying for measures aimed at easing the strict regulation currently in place.

As it stands the 1961 law has been interpreted by some, including the Department of Justice to mean that all online gambling is illegal. Subsequently US Courts have ruled against that. When the wording is further scrutinized, many are of the opinion that the phrase “in the business of” means only businesses are affected, not gambling customers. And yet others feel that the law only covers sports betting, and not other forms of gambling such as poker. Indeed the US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Wire Act does indeed apply to sports betting and not to online gambling.

As a result of the UIGEA, many online gaming operations registered outside of the US ceased their operations in US cyberspace especially following the Kentucky state seizures of domain names in 2008. But there are moves to liberalize online gaming activity, and Representative Barney Frank (D- Mass) is fighting to overturn the ruling. The reason being is that such measures impinge on the universal freedoms of Americans to engage in their preferred form of entertainment.

Online gaming has always been shrouded in issues of the legality of its actions. While it cannot be unequivocally stated what the end status of online gaming, especially in the United States, will be, there are several encouraging moves in the pipeline suggesting an easing of current US restrictions on this global enterprise.

The EU and the USA

In the case of the European Union, EU officials have taken a pro-online gambling position. Several member states have even attempted to legislate on online gaming activity. Banning online gaming is generally prohibited and is contrary to EU law, which must feature conformity across the Union.

In the United States several attempts have long been made to legislate against online gambling. These attempts have often been made on a state-by-state basis, focusing on different regulation regarding online gambling.