People have played online casino games since 1994. However, gaming websites did not become a thing in the US until 2013, when New Jersey and Delaware became the first states to take advantage of a new 2011 interpretation of the Interstate Wire Act of 1961, which proclaimed that this law did not apply to casino gambling. Thus, America’s second most gaming-craze region, home of Atlantic City, the country’s second hottest casino spot, performed a synchronized launch of its interactive gaming sphere on November 21, 2013, about the same time Delaware did so, which closely linked this section of its gambling industry with its racinos.

Today, five more states allow their residents to test their luck on gaming products remotely: Michigan, Connecticut, Rhode Island, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. In all seven, these platforms are doing pretty well, raking in decent revenue figures from their operators and filling tax coffers.

However, if online casinos in the USA have been around for just over a decade, how is it that many Americans have enjoyed this form of gambling from within the nation’s borders from when this sector got off the ground, and is that allowed? We explain this below.

The Rise of the First Online Casinos

Before we get into the legality of gambling sites, it is vital to explain how this industry was created. As noted above, that happened in 1994, when the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda first saw the potential of the then-novel technology called the Internet. It decided to pass a law called the Free Trade and Processing Zone Act, which allows business entities to conduct trade from its soil with other countries, essentially legalizing the offering of gambling services from Antigua and Barbuda globally.

Various companies jumped at this opportunity and set up shop in this sovereign archipelagic country, getting licensed by its government to function as online gambling operators. Once this occurred, other regions around the globe decided to pass similar laws and create their gambling licensors. Hence, Curacao eGaming was born, as was the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, based in Canada’s Native Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake.

These organizations and others like them issued gambling licenses to businesses that could have their servers in the regulator’s jurisdiction but would accept users from almost all areas around the globe, including the US. That still exists today, and the emergence of unlicensed crypto casinos has allowed site operators to not care where gamblers hail from, as no one oversees these hubs or vets them.

How Legal Is It to Play at Foreign Casinos?

It depends. As a rule of thumb, most state authorities do not bother prosecuting people who indulge in this activity, as they see it as a waste of funds. That is so even in parts of the US, where laws strictly prohibit this form of entertainment at offshore sites.

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), a piece of US legalization passed in 2006, aimed at regulating gambling online, prohibited companies from accepting payments connected to people using the Internet for gambling purposes, not counting fantasy sports, which got excluded from this law. It also took no stance on lotteries or horse race wagering.

When it was about to get enforced, it stirred up many controversies, with many calling it unpractical, and it caused Antigua to impose trade sanctions against the US. UIGEA’s implementation got delayed, and in 2011, it led to the event called Black Friday, or the shutting down of the three largest online poker companies, Absolute Poker, Full Tilt Poker, and PokerStars, who got accused of attempting to circumvent UIGEA’s rules for their benefit by disguising their gambling-produced revenues.

This law did not affect the casino sphere or offshore platforms much despite its implications.

The Risks of Playing in Foreign Online Casinos

Are there any? The main one is that these websites are not subjected to US consumer protection laws and that, on account of UIGEA restrictions, American banks may block offshore gaming transactions. Nonetheless, that rarely happens, and experienced gamblers bypass this issue by using cryptos or e-wallets to make deposits and withdrawals with these platforms.

It is still wise to consult with forums and top reviewers like Online United States Casinos (OUSC) to identify reliable platforms that have no payout problems on record. OUSC is a terrific resource for top-end analysis that stretches beyond credibility and transaction speeds/limits, as this reviewer also goes deep into the types of games these websites house, their winning odds, extra features, and more. Without question, everyone curious about exploring the offshore sphere should consult this interactive gaming guide platform.

Regarding security concerns, there are almost none, as foreign online casinos also go through a licensing process similar to what most European countries have in place, and their games get fairness certifications from independent testers such as eCORGA, TST, GLI, and iTech Labs. Accordingly, results get randomly created at these hubs, which usually implement the same robust encryption and security firewalls as their US and Europe-based/regulated counterparts. They may not have the same responsible gambling features as these, but they activate self-exclusion bans by contacting their support teams when users demand this.

Sadonna Price

Sadonna is a casino content creator and former professional poker player who loves using her creativity to provide insight into the most interesting aspects of the casino world.