Virtually every gambler who bets online asks the question “can I go to jail for sports gambling online” sometime or perhaps the other, because nobody really likes to be a law breaker. This is also because it is a known fact that illegal sports gambling can lead to you landing up in jail. However, the answer to this is not simple because it depends on the circumstances and situations the bettor finds himself in. There is a good distinction between making bets, taking bets, accepting advertising, paying the casinos and even buying advertising etc that’s the reason illegal activity varies. Besides, online sports betting an internet-based casino betting has differences.
Only Federal law instead of the state laws need to be considered in the United States. These laws along with their enforcement are constantly being changed and every day could have new laws being enforced. A very important thing for gamblers or online sports bettors to do is to seek right and appropriate legal counsel for his situation.
The web based sports gambler has very little to fear because there is no actual federal law that is against online sports betting. Catherine Hanaway, an attorney in the US admitted that placing a bet online is not against federal law, inside a House hearing in 2007. It’s really a rare case that players tend to be found accountable for violating state laws.
Giant publishers like Microsoft, Yahoo and google have in the past faced penalties where they didn’t face criminal charges but only paid a fine. Others were warned against taking advertisement and thus did not face penalties when they obeyed. Smaller publishers were not even warned against taking online gambling advertisements.
Gambling operators don’t have trouble as long as they only deal with casino and poker bets and operate outside the Usa. It is important to look at and study all the risks which are involved in every internet gambling activity. This means that you ought to know of what will probably lead to a fine or a jail sentence.
The following will help you to be savvy about the legalities of online sports betting. If you take a bet with a server which is in the US is an action that is very risky and you simply might be in trouble. Choosing a bet with a server that is offshore and after that entering the Usa, or taking casino and poker bets from a US client on a site outside of the US, helping clients to set bets over a site, accepting betting advertisements for online sports gambling etc means that you are taking great risks and could land in trouble with the law.
Other areas that entail lesser risks are accepting or buying advertising in media which is small for online gambling, buying advertising as a casino, a US publication affiliate or poker room. The gambler who places bets himself on the internet faces little risk.
So finally it all boils down to this. In case you are still wondering “can I go to jail for sports gambling online?” then all you have to do is download material, guides, articles, reviews etc that is simple to get on the internet and determine the specific laws which correspond with your area, state and jurisdiction as to whether betting online is legal or not.
