Is It Safe To Bet Online
Is Betting Online Safe? The most fundamental question is whether or not the overall practice of betting online is safe, and the jury is in. People have been making sports wagers over the Internet for many years at this point. In most free countries (with one notable exception), it is perfectly legal to make sports bets online. Is Online Sports Betting Safe For USA Players? Tons of sports fans that live in the United States of America wonder everyday if it is safe to bet on sports online in the U.S. The best way to find out if it is safe to bet on sports online.
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Thousands of Americans gamble online. But is online gambling legal? We break it down to show you what you can do, what you can't do, and what's still up in the air.
by Katherine Butler
updated September 03, 2020 · 2min read
The legality of online gambling is ever-changing. But one thing is constant: it makes a lot of money. Online gambling industry makes an estimated $1 billion dollars annually. This is a huge business, and a lot of people have cashed in on it. But it has led to some ambiguous legal issues, as the legality of online gambling is constantly being challenged.
There are differences in the legality of making bets, taking bets, facilitating payments to casinos, and advertising on websites. And there are constantly new legal challenges. So here is a breakdown of the law on online gambling.
Legal Forms of Gambling
There is no federal law against placing a wager online. So, you can legally place a bet online. However, a wager must not be placed on a site located in the United States. There is a small chance players might run afoul of state law, but there is little chance of prosecution. The only case cited where a person got into trouble with a state was in 2003. Jeffrey Trauman of North Dakota paid a $500 fine on over $100,000 of online sports bet winnings.
Sites that are set up outside of the United States are legal. Therefore, gambling on websites located in areas like Australia, the Caribbean, and Latin America is legal. Just be very clear that the site you are playing on is not based on U.S. soil.
Definitely Not Legal Forms of Gambling
It is never legal to gamble on a website based in the United States. Also, if you are planning to operate an online gambling site, stay outside of the United States. You must also deal only with casino and poker wagers (not sports bets) from people in the US. And you cannot take bets over the phone from people in the United States.
Accepting online gambling advertising is also illegal. If you are a small publisher, you are less likely to be prosecuted, but why risk it? As of early 2009, only large and mid-size publishers had faced prosecution. In 2007, the three big search engines (Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft) each paid a fine for accepting online gambling ads, but did not face criminal charges. Other publishers, such as Esquire Magazine, have been warned by the government not to take online gambling advertising.
Facilitating the transfer of funds to online casinos is also a bad idea. As of 2006, it became illegal for American banks to process transactions originating from or directed toward any online gambling operator. Because of this, several sites then refused to take bets from American players. But as the law seems difficult to enforce, it has not turned the tide completely for American players.
Still up in the Air
It's A Safe Bet Crossword
Advertisers who promote sports books in magazines and on billboards may or may not face prosecution. So far, sports books have never been scrutinized for advertising online. And online casinos, poker rooms, and sports books have never been prosecuted for buying ads.
Online casinos and operators still accept American players. And international financial parties have continued to process their transactions. The legality is always changing and there have been attempts to declare online wagering against the law, but for now, U.S. citizens who simply place bets online are in the clear.
One of the first questions people transitioning to online sports betting ask themselves (or should, if they haven’t) is whether it is safe to bet online in the first place. This is definitely a good and very important question. As many of us have learned over the years, the Internet is not the safest place to be and it seems that everything “online” should be approached with caution and suspicion. Alas, betting online at the internet sportsbooks should receive the same scrutiny.
Not A Safe Bet
As we always do, let’s get right down to the answer, before we delve further into the meat and potatoes of this topic. So, is it safe to bet online? The somewhat simple answer is that, yes, it could be, but only if you are careful about it...What, did you expect a cut-and-dry answer? That would be like asking if it’s safe to buy online…Just like there are good online sellers, there are literally thousands of scamming websites for every one of the legit merchants. Sadly, this is the state of the Internet as a whole and the online sportsbook sites aren’t much different. Sure, there are legit places to bet online safely, but there is a ton of junk out there that shouldn’t even be visited, not to mention – opening an account with them and wagering. The truth is that every “online sportsbook” would seem legit when they are taking your money and would be more than happy to do so, but the real test comes when it’s time to pay the winnings. At this time one would quickly find out if it is safe to bet online at the particular sportsbook.
Bet It Up
When we talk about if it’s safe to bet online, we should consider a few aspects. First, as we already noted, most people see this question as whether or not the online sportsbook would pay them their winnings. And this is a legitimate concern, the forums and social media are full of complaints that sportsbook A or sportsbook B didn’t pay them once they won a bunch of money. While there are a few stories of this nature with more to them than disclosed by some people, the majority of those complaints are real and unfortunately this happens more often than any of us would wish. Then there are some online sportsbooks that would pay small requests, but once you hit a winning streak and try to withdraw some serious money – they will find all kinds of reasons to not pay you fair and square.
Obviously paying on time and without problems is what most people consider a sportsbook safe to bet online, but don’t forget that there is another faucet to safety. After all, you will be giving out some personal information when you open an account at the sportsbooks – is this information safe? Despite the fact that it is not common to end up at a “fake” sportsbook, created solely to steal your information, one should still make every attempt possible to protect their information when online. Some people make the silly mistake of using a disposable email address or fake personal information when opening an account at a sportsbook, but then run into issues when it’s time to cash out. The online betting sites would generally do little to no verification when you are depositing money (except if you do so with a credit card), but become really through when it comes time to pay. In the end, they don’t risk much taking your money, but it’s a whole different story if they have to pay. Even if you go with Bitcoin deposits, which are generally the safest and easiest way to fund your betting account, you still have to identify yourself to the sportsbook. So, choosing a sportsbook that would guard your information is very important when trying to be safe betting online. A reputable online sportsbook would closely guard your information – you are their asset and they don’t want to lose it to a competitor or worse. On the other hand, sportsbook startups that can’t make it, are more than happy to sell their customers’ information as a last attempt to make some more money before they fold. Thus, if you want to bet online safely, choosing a reputable sportsbook with a long and proven history is a must.
The biggest question now becomes, how do you find these mythical safe places to bet online? The easiest way is to use the recommendations of others. Not to toot our horn, but our sportsbook recommendations are the cream of the crop, which is why on our home page we have approved a number of sportsbooks you can count on one hand. Sure, there are other review sites that may list hundred or more sportsbooks, but we know there aren’t that many safe sites to bet online. One can also browse the various betting forums and social media channels for recommendation, but take those with grain of salt, as well. A lot of those discussion websites make money from advertising, therefore just because you saw a banner on a reputable website, doesn’t mean that the sportsbook advertised is the best choice. Just some food for thought when searching for safe betting sites.