The real reasons so many forms of gambling are illegal in so many states are that governments are grossly hypocritical and arbitrary when it comes to their gambling laws and governments see themselves as nanny states with their citizens as children who need to be protected from vice and their own stupidity. With the growing online betting industry, some people in states that term gambling illegal can access online casinos. However, this is also frowned upon. Very few have legalized online gambling. Why Is Online Poker Illegal In The US? Online poker, while widely popular and lucrative, resides in a complex legal maze that requires some finesse to navigate. In order to understand the nuances involved, it would help to have a good overview on US gambling laws. Why was sports betting illegal in most of the U.S.? The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 halted the spread of legal sports betting beyond states that then allowed it. The states also have differing legal gambling ages, with some states requiring the same minimum age for all types of gambling, while for others, it depends on the activity. For example, in New Jersey, an 18-year-old can buy a lottery ticket or bet on a horse race, but cannot enter a casino until age 21.

1. Why Is Gambling Illegal In Some States
2. Why Is Gambling Illegal In Some States Allow

US gambling laws have undergone some revisions regarding how they are applied to online poker, changing the legal landscape in a positive way for poker fans.

Why Is Online Poker Illegal In The US?

Online poker, while widely popular and lucrative, resides in a complex legal maze that requires some finesse to navigate. In order to understand the nuances involved, it would help to have a good overview on US gambling laws. US based online poker was kept at bay for many years through the Federal Wire Act, which was interpreted to apply to any type of domestic online gambling entertainment. These circumstances gave rise to legally licensed offshore poker sites that accept US players. Revised interpretations regarding the application of the Federal Wire Act allows individual states the option of deciding whether or not they want to host regulated online poker, however very few have capitalized on this opportunity.

The heyday of online poker in the US was in the early 2000s when the technological advancements were paced far ahead of regulatory oversight. The US gambling market was ripe for investment, and numerous licensed offshore poker rooms set their sites on American poker players. This provided a large range of poker sites for US poker buffs to participate at. Things changed in 2006 when President George Bush signed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA).

The UIGEA bill prohibits financial institutions from progressing gambling related transactions via the Internet. This law forced many online poker providers to shut down their US-facing sites due to a blowup of USA friendly deposit methods. Some large companies like PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker continued to do business with American players as it took some time for the ramifications of the law to be implemented. In fact, the final regulations brought on by the UIGEA did not go into effect until late 2009. There were efforts to draft pro-poker legislation for some states, but not before the entire poker world was rocked on April 15, 2011.

On what would become known as Black Friday, the US Department of Justice issued indictments against financial institutions and online poker groups like PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker Absolute Poker. Charges included UIGEA violations, bank fraud, money laundering and illegal gambling. Bank accounts and domain names were seized as a result and the sites immediately stopped accepting US players. Each site continued to do business with other countries.

In the wake of Black Friday, the future of online poker seemed unclear. The DOJ issued a Formal Opinion that the Federal Wire Act only applied to sports betting, leaving the decision to host online casinos and poker up to each individual state. American players had online poker access through licensed offshore sites, but it was not until 2013 that the US saw US-based online poker emerge through Nevada, Delaware and New Jersey. Ultimate Poker and World Series Of Poker launched sites along with several other small companies. PokerStars made its US comeback in March 2016 through New Jersey and the state has been profiting off the regulated site ever since.

The UIGEA targets financial institutions, not individual players. While US-based online poker is illegal in most states, US players do have some legally sanctioned options available through legitimately licensed and regulated offshore destinations. It is likely that more states will push for regulated online poker, but it takes time for legislation to pass and be implemented. We anticipate more states will get on board with this type of gambling entertainment within the next few years.

In late 2017, a picture appeared and quickly spread on social media, listing states where oral sex is purportedly still illegal and punishable in some cases by prison time:

The graphic is accurate in that some states still have laws against oral sex on the books, an artifact of anti-sodomy laws that some states rewrote to specifically target LGBTQ residents. However, this graphic neglects to point out that these types of laws are unenforceable because of the Supreme Court’s 2003 ruling in Lawrence v. Texas, which declared that Texas’s anti-sodomy law was unconstitutional.

The high court ruled in a 6-3 decision that two gay men, John Geddes Lawrence Jr. and Tyron Garner, should not have been arrested for what police called “deviate sexual conduct.” In the majority opinion, Justice Anthony Kennedy said:

The present case does not involve minors. It does not involve persons who might be injured or coerced or who are situated in relationships where consent might not easily be refused. It does not involve public conduct or prostitution. It does not involve whether the government must give formal recognition to any relationship that homosexual persons seek to enter. The case does involve two adults who, with full and mutual consent from each other, engaged in sexual practices common to a homosexual lifestyle. The petitioners are entitled to respect for their private lives. The State cannot demean their existence or control their destiny by making their private sexual conduct a crime.

Why Is Gambling Illegal In Some States

The Lawrence ruling also struck down anti-sodomy laws around the United States, which included laws prohibiting oral sex. However, according to Camilla Taylor, acting legal director for civil rights group Lambda Legal, the states with such statutes do not have to remove them from legislative records: “Some of those were enacted by constitutional amendment. Some of them were passed by statute. Those state legislatures have never rescinded them. But they’re unconstitutional nonetheless, and they cannot be enforced.”

Why Is Gambling Illegal In Some States Allow

It’s true that the laws exist and are on the books. However, as of 2003, they now only exist as a legal — and unconstitutional — curiosity.