Offshore Gambling Loopholes And Laws
Offshore Gambling
Internet gambling is against the law in a few countries, so one way round this utilized by online casinos is to move their businesses overseas to a more sympathetic nation. Since their business is conducted online, the physical place of their offices and facilities don?t really matter. This is what is known as offshore gambling, and refers to the lack of jurisdiction over these businesses by any particular nation or state.
While Internet gambling is strictly speaking not completely banned in the USA (the Wire Act refers only to gambling over the telephone), 70% of the world?s offshore gambling play is attributed to Americans. This is mostly because of the fact that USA law imposes restrictions on the income coming from online casinos. Any gains must be declared, while not taking into account any losses made. As a result of this legal restriction, many casinos have decided to pack up and relocate their businesses overseas.
Many Internet casinos and poker houses are therefore avoiding USA law (while still being able to service US customers) by starting up shop in Gibraltar, the Isle of Man, and other more relaxed places. The costs involved in relocating to other countries are reduced by the fact that the online gambling industry is now worth approx $2.4 billion, and is still growing in popularity.
Because of the value of this business, most casinos continue to look for loopholes in the laws that countries implement to regulate online gambling. For example, although the United States has pretty much barred advertising for online casinos in magazines, TV, and the Internet, clever advertisers have found a way around it. Instead of directly advertising the casino portion of their websites, they advertise tutorials on how to play cards (for instance) which uses only virtual money. But a link to the actual casino would be there somewhere for the gambler to sniff out.
But customers at these casinos must, of course be more watchful. Precisely because these casinos are ?offshore? and therefore beyond control, the players are not as well-protected as they might be if they were inside a land-based casino. Because of this, some organizations have been formed to act as watchdogs for these offshore casinos, protecting the punters and enforcing a measure of security.
Max Walker is a keen casino user and recommends a UK Offshore casino offering a £500 new account bonus. Also recommended is a FREE Poker Downloadable Ebook
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