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 loves to be a law breaker. This really is because it is a known fact that illegal sports gambling can lead to you landing up in jail. However, the answer to this question is not simple because it depends on the conditions and situations the bettor finds himself in. There is a good difference 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 and online casino betting also has differences.
Only Federal law and not the state laws have to be considered in the USA. These laws along with their enforcement are constantly being changed and each day can have new laws being enforced. A very important thing for gamblers or online sports bettors to do should be to seek right and appropriate legal counsel for his situation.
The online sports gambler has not much to fear because there is no actual federal law which is against online sports betting. Catherine Hanaway, an attorney in the United States admitted that placing a bet on the web is not against federal law, in a House hearing in 2007. It is a rare case that players tend to be found accountable for violating state laws.
Giant publishers like Microsoft, Google and Yahoo have previously faced penalties where they didn’t face criminal charges but only paid a fine. Others were warned against taking advertisement and thus didn’t face penalties after they obeyed. Smaller publishers weren’t even warned against taking internet gambling advertisements.
Gambling operators do not have trouble as long as they only manage casino and poker bets and operate outside of the United States. It is essential to look at and study all the risks which are associated with every online gambling activity. This means that you should be aware of what is likely to result in a fine or a jail sentence.
The following will help you to be savvy in regards to the legalities of online sports betting. If you take a bet with a server which is in the US is an activity that is very risky and you simply could be in trouble. Taking a bet on 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 parts that entail lesser risks are accepting or buying advertising in media which is small for internet gambling, buying advertising as a casino, an American publication affiliate or poker room. The gambler who places bets himself over the internet faces little risk.
So finally it all boils down to this. If you are still wondering “can I go to jail for sports gambling online?” then all you need to undertake is download material, guides, articles, reviews etc that is easy to get on the internet and find out the specific laws which relate to your area, state and jurisdiction whether or not betting online is legal or otherwise not.