Online Wagering in the US vs. Online Wagering in the Rest of the World

Placing bets online is not something that started during the second decade of the twenty-first century. This activity has been around for over two decades, and it has given people from all over the world the opportunity to put their money on their favourite sports or casino games without having to leave their homes. Gaming websites went from having rigid layouts and limited game selections to having state-of-the-art responsive websites or applications and countless gaming products that can satisfy the needs of every player. This availability has made online wagering popular all over the planet, and naturally, the US market is gradually starting to catch up with the rest of the world.

The United States may be one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world, but when it came to online games of chance, the country was ages behind everyone else. Players from European countries and from countries like South Africa have had the ability to log in to their accounts and to play online slots like the ones released by top casino developers such as Pragmatic Play. For a person who is 18 or over and who has been outside the United States, playing games like the Sword of Ares and the Dog House was extremely easy, but for people in the States, playing such games would mean that they would have to go to a land-based casino or that they would have to look for “semi-regulated” options. All of this is starting to change as more or more States are making online wagering accessible to their residents.

 

What Have Americans Done Up to Now?

 

Apart from land-based options and apart from unregulated forms of wagering, there have been some alternatives in regard to placing types of wagers online in the United States. Services like DraftKings and FanDuel generated billions of dollars on an annual basis before the international betting giants decided to launch their American branches. The two services above may have a lot more competition now and they may even generate less in profit if compared to newer providers, but they are very well established and very well connected. NBA franchises have long-term deals with them, NFL teams promote their products everywhere and even e-Sports gamers have some kind of sponsorship with such “fantasy-league” wagering providers. In addition to sporting associations, wagering providers like DraftKings are starting to sign deals with television networks and global media distribution networks.

 

How Does the American Legal System Work?

 

The United States may be one big federation, but when it comes to state laws, then there are 50 different administrations. This means that each State needs to pass its own bills in order for its residents to have access to something like online betting. Currently, online wagering is available in almost half of the United States, but there are new bills expected to be passed in following months. This will allow people from States like Arizona, North Carolina, and Indiana, to place their bets legally and with ease. This may be hard for non-Americans to understand as laws in other countries apply collectively. For example, if Spain passes a new gambling law, then it will apply to all its provinces regardless of the fact that each province has its own government, which in its turn can pass other laws at a provincial level. In the United States, regulated gambling is a State affair and not a Federal affair.

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