»Money Laundering

Myth: Online gambling is more susceptible to money laundering than land-based gambling.

Fact: There is no credible evidence of money laundering associated with online gambling.  Land-based gambling in venues such as casinos and race tracks is more susceptible to money laundering than online gambling.

Myth: Online gambling presents greater risks of addiction and abusive gambling.

Fact: Scholarly and scientific evidence does not support this claim. Online gambling can be better monitored to avoid problem gambling than traditional forms of land-based gambling. Traditional gambling devices, such as slot machines in casinos or video lottery machines at race tracks, are either as, or even more, addictive than online gambling.

Myth: Online gaming operators are heavily criminal off shore companies

Fact: Many of them are perfectly legal companies that are being traded on stock exchanges around the world, like online poker operators Bwin on the Austrian exchange and Party Poker on the London Exchange.

Myth: Online gambling is more likely to attract underage gambling than land-based gambling.

Fact: This is not correct. While underage gambling has been a persistent concern at land-based casinos and lotteries, or with underground American bookies who take bets on credit, the same is not true with online gambling.

Myth: Online gambling does not exist in the United States.

Fact: Americans can freely and openly place bets via their computers, televisions or telephones. The United States sanctions remote gambling on horse racing and the State of Nevada, for instance, sanctions remote gambling within Nevada.  Other states intend to follow Nevada's lead in a new phase of gambling expansion in the United States.

Myth: Online gambling is unfair to bettors.

Fact: This is not true.  Online gambling regulations in nations such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and Antigua ensure that consumers are treated fairly and the games are completely honest.

Myth: It is illegal to place a bet in the United States.

Fact: This is not true in the majority of states.  There is no federal law which criminalizes the placement of a bet by a bettor.  This holds true in the majority of states; although there are some states which do criminalize betting.

Myth: Online gambling is not capable of being regulated.

Fact: This is not true.  Online gambling is successfully regulated in many parts of the world, so it can obviously be regulated in the United States.  The countries which permit and regulate online gambling include: the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, Antigua, and interestingly, even the United States itself. The State of Nevada permits and regulates online sports books for Nevada residents and visitors.  the State of Nevada is also in the process of issuing regulations for other forms of remote gambling.

Myth: Regulated sports gambling threatens the character and integrity of sporting events.

Fact: No one has a greater interest in keeping the games honest than legitimate bookmakers. Regulated bookmakers have successfully worked with the sports leagues and law enforcement officials to ensure games are fair and honest.

»Federal Government on Gambling

Myth: The United States federal government is opposed to gambling.

Fact: The United States federal government owns and operates casinos at military installations in other countries.   As an owner and operator of casinos, the federal government can hardly be said to be anti-gambling.

»States on Gambling

Myth: The individual states are opposed to gambling.

Fact: This is not correct. Gambling is legal in 48 of 50 states. The individual states not only regulate and license gambling, they also own the largest gambling operations in the world – state lotteries.   There are 41 state lotteries in the United States.

Myth: The United States is not obligated to allow foreign gambling operators to access the American gambling market.

Fact: The World Trade Organization ruled in 2005 that the United States is in violation of its international trade commitments by attempting to block foreign gambling operators from the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda from offering Internet and telephone gambling services to Americans. The United States is therefore required to allow access to Antigua operators and has until April 2006 to do so.

The United States has not complied with its gambling commitment as of 2009, and instead continues to harass and bring criminal charges against licensed and regulated gaming operators in other countries. The WTO has therefore assessed multi-millions of dollars in ongoing trade sanctions against the United States until it complies with or resolves the case.

Myth: There are no reliable online sources to research online casino gambling related information.

Fact: This is not true. You can learn all about online gambling in the beginners guide offered at Casino Advisor a trusted source for online casino gambling related information!

Myth: There is no way to know that an online casino is legitimate.

Fact: This is not true. There are regulatory organizations such as IGC or Ecogra whose symbols are used to establish which online casinos meet industry standards. There are also responsible gaming links on most reputable online casino sites. As a last resort, players should use Google to ensure the site is reputable.