Online gambling has been a fast-growing industry in recent years. In fact, it has become the fastest-growing industry in the world. Despite the fact that it is legal in some countries, online gambling is illegal in the United States. This is because of federal legislation.
The Gambling Act, the Travel Act, the Illegal Gambling Business Act, and the Wire Act all prohibit the unlawful use of Internet gambling to place bets. They also prohibit the unauthorized transportation of lottery tickets between states.
There are a few more federal statutes that are relevant to internet gambling. These include the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) provisions. Those provisions also prevent the operation of illegal gambling businesses.
The most interesting statute, however, is the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. It comes with Congressional findings on the impact of the act on interstate commerce.
While the statute is not the first to address online gambling, it is certainly one of the most effective. Not only does it include a number of factors designed to catch low-level cases, but it also includes a Congressional finding on the impact of the law on interstate commerce.
Other laws to be mentioned are the Travel Act, the Gambling Act, the Illegal Gambling Business Act, the Remote Gaming Act, the Wire Act, and the Skill Game Protection Act. Several other bills have been introduced to soften the sting of the UIGEA.
The First Amendment has been the main subject of many legal challenges to the statutes, but those challenges have been met with little success. Some argue that the Commerce Clause protects the government from regulating the business of gambling, while others contend that the due process guarantee is not implicated.