Regarding online casinos
 

I seem to remember reading somewhere that legislation had been proposed and/or passed making it illegal for US based Webmasters to advertise or link to online casinos.

I also seem to recall that US based credit card providers cannot/willnot allow their CC's to be used for online casinos.

Am I mistaken and if not where can I find information about this legislation?

While interesting...I did not find any definitive information about proposed or enacted legislation. Maybe I overlooked it???

In the USA, there is a law called the Federal Wire Act of 1961. This law dictates that an American can not use the phone lines to place a bet. So, its against the law for Ralph Kramden in Brooklyn. NY to telephone his bookie in Las Vegas to place a USD $ 100 bet on the New York Giants Football team at the Superbowl. He has to physically GO to Las Vegas and bet there. The problem is that the law was written before the internet existed, so no one had a clue this technology would develop.

Also search the Supreme court ruling against uslotto.com an Indian gaming operation that lost !

No one can OWN and/or OPERATE a casino in the USA without a license. WIGC, a New York State corporation had a casino server in Antigua (Caribbean Nation) and ran its gambling operations from there. In July of 1999, they were found guilty in a New York State court of violating Gambling laws. The judge indicated that the casino server could be anywhere (including the planet Mars), but if the company is incorporated within a US State (ie: New York), then the company and its operations are subject to its own State's laws. On February 28, 2000, Jay Cohen, a online gaming operator based in Antigua whose casino was taking bets from Americans, was found guilty on all counts of violating the Federal Wire Act of 1960. On August 9, 2000, he was fined USD $ 5000 and was sentenced to 21 months in prison. In June of 2002, his appeal to the US Supreme court was rejected and he must serve the full sentence.

http://www.msnbc.com/news/369978.asp?cp1=1

There are several bills in Congress and the Senate making online gambling illegal
that haven't passed yet. Because of this mindfield and court rulings against Visa and MasterCard almost all US Card Issuers code their credit cards to be blocked on Gambling sites.

There are some countries that allow processors to still process blocked (Coded) credit cards as long as it is issued outside their country. There was recently a court ruling in Australia that the gaming industry won which allows them them process credit cards gor gaming as long as it's issued outsite Australia.

This transfers the criminal act on paying for gambling or betting online to the card holder in which case is anyone anywhere in the USA that uses a communications device to place the bet !

If you look closely at almost any large visa issuer like BANK ONE , capitalone you will notice a simple one line disclaimer about it not to be used online at a casino.i have used one before though it worked ( i lost but it worked )

WTO ruled in Antigua's favor. I think Yahoo and google will start allowing ads again soon..


UK Yahoo has betfair.com everywhere and it seem they may become partners later on...

The robots on Poker Stars always clean me out. :1orglaugh

http://www.wsgc.wa.gov/FAQ/InternetGamblingFAQ.htm

Here is a very plain English webpage talking about the legality of online gaming. The rules vary from state to state but my last job was for a large online casino and even though we were based in the US, we did not take bets from the US. As you'll see in the above FAQ, it is illegal to solicit bets from inside the US because it violates the Federal Wire Wager Act which was designed to stop racketeering.

Cyn

i use offshore solutions for all Rx and gambling sites, safe bet
plus you get to travel "offshore" to gorgeous islands with great banks!
sweet deal.....


btw
costa rica