USA Gambling Laws
Gambling laws in the United States at the state and federal levels are examined in depth
Statutory anti-gambling laws in each state are presented in full text. A chart answering common state gambling law questions is included, as are articles explaining different aspects of gambling laws.
This Website is an effort to make available a wide range of information on gambling laws at both the State and Federal levels governing the legality of various forms of gambling and gaming. Currently the website includes:
| Area of Coverage: | In the left column, click on: |
|---|---|
| Conclusions on five basic issues under every State anti-gambling law. | State Law Summary |
| Texts of the basic anti-gambling law of every State. | State Gambling laws |
| Texts of State Charitable Gambling statutes | State Charitable Gaming Laws |
| Articles and notes on various legal matters, including online gambling matters | Gambling Law Articles |
| Summaries of the principal federal laws applicable to gambling, including the new UIGEA. | US Federal Gambling Laws |
| Links to Useful Sites for further exploration of gambling laws. | Useful Sites |
Where is Gambling Legal in the US?
Gaming and gambling in the United States have undergone a great boom. During the past decade most states have expanded legalized gaming, including regulated casino-style games and lotteries. There has been an explosion in opening Native American casinos. The popularity of online gambling and betting has increased exponentially. Gambling-Law-US.com presents, explains and analyzes the patchwork of state and federal and state gambling laws that apply to the boom.
The words "gamble" and "gambling" are generally used to discuss an activity that may run afoul of applicable criminal laws. The word "gaming" is usually reserved for those instances where the activity has been specifically legalized by applicable laws or where the activity is exempted from the criminal laws. Thus, playing a casino-style game at a for-profit website online in the United States is referred to as gambling, since no state has yet to finalize any gambling law that specifically authorizes a for-profit website operator to offer any casino games.
The two words are not mutually exclusive. That is, a gaming activity could turn out to be gambling where applicable laws regulating that particular gaming are violated. Similarly, a gambling activity may turn out to be gaming if it is exempted from a given criminal statute. For example, playing a card game for money in a purely social setting where no one earns anything from the game other than as a mere player would be gaming if such social games were excluded from the reach of the criminal anti-gambling laws in the state where the game takes place. For the history of gambling laws on a state-by-state basis, see the individual state entries on Pokerwebsites.com.
States where gambling is legal
Each state has the right to regulate gambling both in the real life and the online because that activity is legal on a federal level. Read the our complicated review of gambling laws by state or select the item from table below.
