The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) was adopted in 1992, which bans placing bets on sporting events except in states where betting was legal or approved by law, or in a state where betting is legalized within a year from that date. Only Nevada, Montana, Oregon and Delaware qualify as exceptions to this law. While US respects the free and liberation of citizens, there are few tricky aspects here. Though it is a free nation, there’s legal age limit for drinking, though you can stock up on arms and ammunition, etc. Do you know only Nevada allows sports betting in the US after the law was passed in 1992 against sports betting?
Unlike the US, all types of betting are legal in Britain. While normal betting and casinos are legal in the US, including Vegas being called the Mecca for Gambling, sports betting is a definite NO, unless you are in Nevada. However, you are able to bet online, yes even sports betting. The 1992 law was probably triggered by the 1919 Black Sox match being fixed, which sent shockwaves throughout the country. Since it is close to a century post the incident, it is time to reconsider and change the state of affairs and make sports betting legal in the US. Many have requested legalizing sports betting and for now, pro leagues are the ones opposing it. Do you know betting on sports is banned on real leagues and not “fantasy leagues”? This exemption was allowed by passing a law in 2006, way after the ban on sports betting.
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Do you know online gambling is legal? Yes, there are no federal laws against online sports betting or gambling and no individuals have been arrested for those charges, a reason why online sports betting sites are quite popular. Only very few states have explicit laws against online gambling, though there aren’t any prosecutions in those states. Some states have even legalized online gambling. Do you know taking sports bets online is illegal, not placing them? Yes, Federal law does prohibit placing sports bet; yet they do take bets and banks allow such transactions! They rarely go after payment processors, though it is really difficult to go behind individuals placing bets, besides there’s no law to prohibit them. However, this could change anytime, considering how many are pushing for sports betting legalization.
Many do not know sports betting is illegal in the US. In other words, betting on any sports event beyond Vegas borders isn’t allowed! But this hasn’t deterred enthusiasts and according to federal government estimations, about $80 – $300 billion are illegally spent on sports betting every year. Online sports betting tops the list and there are increased calls for legalizing sports betting. A recent poll revealed most want sports betting legalized, so it would be regularized and also bring in extra tax income! Recently New Jersey government and Californian Senate announced they would allow sports betting. This shows how the government understands the need for legalizing sports betting and amends are made in the direction. With NFL being vocal about their stands on sports betting legalization, looks like the federal government would pay heed and make it legal, after all.
Another aspect that changes things now, is the penetration of mobile devices to the world of online betting. To understand this difficulty lets imagine a user crossing borders in Europe with his mobile device. The change of country should cause change in regulations but can someone force it. The mobile devices became the most popular device for sports betting in general and for football betting in particular. I strongly recommend to read this post that talk about this big trend of football mobile betting.
The regulator didn’t give any response to this big change yet, but I believe that a solution will come sooner or later
