Online Wagering: A guide to legal resources
By Dale Poulter
Introduction
Case Law Codes Attorney General Opinions Legislation Jurisdiction on the Internet Other Sources
As the use of the Internet for entertainment purposes has continued to grow so have the legal problems relating to industry. One of the more prominent problems is Online gambling. Online , or Internet, gambling is the use of the Internet for placing wagers. A person might suggest that online gambling and going to a casino is the same thing and should be regulated in the same way. A few of the differences are:
- Online wagering does not take into account the age of the participant or the actual identity
- Casinos can check for identification and can better control possible fraud
- The legal jurisdiction of online wagering may cross state or national borders (this is one of the major issues of the Internet --Who has jurisdiction)
- Cities, States and even Nations lose tax revenues
Many of these sites are located offshore and are not under the jurisdiction of the US court system.
Here is a view of the more noticeable online wagering sites
There has been only a few cases dealing with this issue directly.
- State v. Granite Gate Resorts, Inc., 568 N.W.2d 715 : This case deals with a company in Nevada creating a online casino that would be accessed from Minnesota.
- Missouri ex rel. Nixon v. Coeur D'Alene Tribe, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14980 : Deals with Native American lotteries available on the Internet.
Codes:
- 18 USCS § 1955 (1997) : This section of the US code deals with the definition of illegal gambling
Attorney General Opinions concerning Internet Gambling:
- Florida Attorney General's Opinion (October, 1995).
- Minnesota Attorney General's Office, Memorandum on Internet Jurisdiction (July 1995).
- The Texas Attorney General's Opinion (May, 1995)
- Internet Gambling Prohibition Act –S 474: Introduced by Senator Kyl (R-Arizona) on 3/19/97, this bill will amend Sections 1081 and 1084 of Title 18 U.S. Code to prohibit Internet gambling and cyber-casinos. The bill was reported, with an amendment, to the Senate on 10/23/97 from the Committee on the Judiciary. It was placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders.
- Marc L. Caden & Stephanie E. Lucas, Comment,Accidents On the Information Superhighway: On-Line Liability And Regulation, 2 RICH. J.L. & TECH. 3 (1996) http://www.urich.edu/~jolt/v2i1/caden_lucas.html
- What Jurisdictional Controls? : Article contains several case references dealing with the question of court jurisdiction and the Internet
- Personal Jurisdiction and the Net: Does Your Website Subject You to the Laws of Every State in the Union? by Dennis H. Hernandez and David May, Baker and Hostetler (Los Angeles) (July 1996)
Other sources
Cabot, Anthony. The Internet Gambling Report Las Vegas, NV; Trace Publications, (1997) . This book covers how Internet gambling sites work and their potential for growth. Government policy and responses to Internet gambling are highlighted and defined by comparing the approaches being taken in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Taiwan, Singapore, the Peoples Republic of China and Hong Kong. The book covers the practical problems that governments are having in attempting to prohibit or restrict their citizens from on-line gambling and potential alternatives to current enforcement policy. Technology issues, such as the security of Internet transactions and the limitations of the Internet, are covered in both layman's and technical descriptions.
Miscellaneous articles
concerning gambling on the Internet.
Please send questions or comments to Dale Poulter
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