U.S. Gambling Laws

The US gambling laws represent a somewhat complicated subject. After all, there are more than fifty different states within the union. While federal regulations are imposed on all states, the states still maintain a high degree of autonomy when dealing with their respective legislation. So, we can’t talk about gambling laws in all of the United States, as this would greatly surpass the scope of this review. What we can do is take one state, say, California, and compare the gambling laws there with some of the gambling laws that are enforced in Europe.

That being said, California is known for the relative laxness of its gambling laws. There are many casinos in the country. However, it’s important to note that all of the land-based casinos in California are tribal casinos. You can play games like roulette, blackjack, keno, craps, video poker, and more. There are also separate card rooms where the players can play games against one another, such as the top-rated Texas Hold ‘Em card game.

Also, it’s important to note that online gambling is completely legal in California. If you’re interested in the developments in the gambling industry, then chances are that you’re well aware of the fact that, at one point, online gambling was completely banned in the United States. So, it’s always refreshing to know that online gambling is legal in the state of California under current laws. It’s easy to find an online casino that accepts gift cards and play there completely legally. However, there’s one important limitation that you must be aware of when it comes to gambling in California – it’s that you need to be 21 years of age at least to be able to gamble legally.

Accepting bets and wagers on sports is illegal in California, while sports betting is legal. Dog racing is illegal. Horse racing is legal, but only with pari-mutuel betting. That being said, the somewhat rigid sports betting laws in California may change soon as there is a petition that would make sports betting legal in the tribal casinos. Also, there is a state lottery in California with bingo and other games.

European Gambling Laws

But how do the laws in the United States and California compare to European gambling laws? It’s important to note that there are also many countries in Europe, each with its own respective gambling laws. Typically, gambling laws are a lot more relaxed and less strict in Europe than the gambling laws in the United States.

There are more than 200 different casinos on the territory of the EU member state France. Many different forms of gambling are legal, including online gambling. However, only horse racing, poker, and sports betting are legal when it comes to online gambling. In Germany, gambling establishments are spread across the entire state. There are more than 9,000, which is quite a big number. There are 60 casinos in total. Online gambling is legal in its many forms. However, playing online slots is still illegal. 

Italy is another country in Europe with relaxed gambling laws. Italy was one of the first countries in Europe that enacted lax laws on online gambling. Milan is Italy’s biggest gambling hub, with dozens of different gambling sites and establishments.

In Conclusion

The most important thing to note when distinguishing between US and European gambling laws is that the former tends to be much stricter than the latter. However, there seems to be a trend of making gambling laws laxer all across the world. So, it appears that gambling will become legal in many different forms in many different countries worldwide.