Offshore Gambling Sites Poker
Offshore Betting Sites 4 weeks ago Easton To enhance your possibilities of winning far better not abuse on your own; it is an excellent concept to pause occasionally; this will certainly permit your ideas to recuperate and also will certainly aid you to remain concentrated on your video game and also maintain your wits sharp. Offshore sportsbook provides you with various online gambling such as sports betting, casino & poker. The safety of offshore sportsbooks should be assured by both legality and financial health. Gambling related advice, guide and tips. The Holy Grail for a poker player. ©2020 Offshore Gambling - Offshore Gaming Blog. Offshore poker sites have enjoyed a strong presence among US players in recent years. The game of poker has been a popular mainstay in America for well over a century, but it wasn’t actually until the early 2000s that it really took off via ESPN with the game of Texas Hold’em.
ContentsOffshore Gambling from the U.S. Legal?
Short answer is No and the long answer likely arrives at No as well. The risk? It’s up for you to decide. Read on to get the full story. Offshore betting operators have long been in operation since the advent of the internet, going as far back as 25 years. These sites maintain a large share of the U.S. betting market, notwithstanding the gray legal area in which they operate. Nonetheless, a pressing legal issue that pervades wagering in this medium is the legality of online betting for US players. In other words, those that place wagers want to know if they can be sent to jail for doing so. The answer is most likely no, but the transfer of money from offshore sportsbooks to your bank account is illegal.
To answer the question in it’s simplest form, in the process of you depositing, betting, and withdrawing money from Bovada is breaking US law. The laws are also making it increasingly more difficult because operator liability is a more settled issue. We believe with the state by state legislation in the US, a large percentage of US sports bettors will bring their money back stateside. There isn’t the risk and players won’t be breaking the law. You can read all about the legality of online sports betting in the US.
What Are the Stateside Online Sportsbook Options?
If you’re in Nevada, New Jersey or Pennsylvania, you’re golden. New Jersey folks are able to bet on a litany of online sportsbooks such as FanDuel Sportsbook, DraftKings Sportsbook, PointsBet Sportsbook & Sugarhouse Sportsbook.
Black Friday and the Impact on Online Gambling
Black Friday forever changed offshore gambling in the United States. There are two distinct periods in pre-Black Friday offshore gaming history. The first was prior to the enactment of UIGEA. The second period was between UIGEA and Black Friday. In any event, these two events forever altered a vibrant, yet unpredictable market.
The early online sportsbooks were popular, yet not entirely reliable. Initially, players signed up for them and funded their accounts through money orders.
Eventually, payment processors got in on the action, and players, at some times, could use their credit card to fund their accounts. Much of the payment processing for online sportsbooks was done through specialized companies that existed to funnel monies to the online wagering outlets. Still, prior to 2006, it was very easy for bettors to fund their accounts without having to undertake extraordinary measures.
Bovada, which previously operated as Bodog, has consistently been one of the largest operators since the advent of online wagering. This sportsbook is a large name in the market and it had offered both sports wagering as well as poker. Its strong market position is in spite of some legal and ownership turmoil that it had experienced. Another strong name in the sportsbook market before UIGEA and Black Friday was Pinnacle Sports, which offered both sports wagering and poker. Top entrants into the online poker market included PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and PartyGaming. Online poker was so entrenched that in 2003, four players in the World Series of Poker finals won their entries through online poker rooms.
Even before the federal government began to crack down on online gambling, casinos at times experienced serious financial issues. Players requesting payouts often had to hold their breath when doing so because sometimes the payout did not come. The unregulated online market experienced a raft of business failures for various reasons, including the fact that operating expenses were paid with player funds. When casinos went under, customers did not get paid and lost their money.
Federal Laws to Limit Offshore Gambling
The WIRE Act applies only to sports betting and not to online poker or other gambling. This was clarified by the Department of Justice in a 2011 opinion. This viewpoint was also taken by the Fifth Circuit in a 2002 decision that limited the application of the Wire Act. As a result, online gambling was partially uncovered by existing laws.
In 2006, Congress decided to curtail online gambling through the passage of UIGEA. The existing gambling laws such as the WIRE Act and the Travel Act were proving insufficient to tackle the issue of the proliferation of offshore entities. While states, and to some extent the federal government, could police gambling that occurred within their borders, enforcement was virtually impossible when gambling either traversed state lines or especially national borders. Although offshore operations could be charged in absentia, not much else could be done to disrupt the flow of monies.
UIGEA gave law enforcement a new tool in its arsenal to attack online gambling. The primary mechanism that UIGEA used to accomplish this was an attempt to “go after the money.” Since it was extremely easy to fund accounts through credit cards and wire transfers, Congress wanted to make it more difficult to fund accounts. This was following a 1999 recommendation from the National Gambling Impact Study Commission, which advised Congress to act to cut off transfers to online gambling operators.
It is important to note what was made illegal by UIGEA. The act of placing a wager offshore was not banned by the legislation. The law does not necessarily apply to individual players unless they are “engaged in the business” of gambling. Instead, the law applies solely to those who accept money in connection with wagers.
Specifically, UIGEA makes it illegal to accept credit, electronic funds transfers, checks or any proceeds from a financial transaction in connection with another’s participation in unlawful internet gambling. In other words, nobody may receive or process payments destined for offshore gambling platforms since they are not legal. The Federal Reserve Bank and the Department of Treasury were required to issue final regulations to implement UIGEA. Penalties for violating UIGEA were both jail time and monetary fines.
UIGEA had a chilling effect on offshore operators’ revenues as it became more difficult to fund accounts. For example, Pinnacle Sports’ handle fell by approximately half after the passage of UIGEA. Credit card companies grew increasingly cautious when it came to processing payments for companies tied to online gambling, in some instances completely shutting off the flow of money. There was a multitude of enforcement actions against payment processors. For example, in 2009, the U.S. Attorney in Maryland took legal action against two payment processors for Bodog, resulting in the combined seizure of over $20 million in assets.
Still, offshore operators resorted to extreme measures to slip their funding by financial institutions. In some instances, they set up fictitious companies to serve as fronts to accept revenues. This led to Black Friday, when a slew of online poker operators and payment processors were indicted and many millions of dollars of customer accounts were seized, leading to a near-complete shutdown of the online poker industry. Sportsbookscontinued to operate, albeit subject to continuous federal efforts aimed at enforcement of UIGEA.
Offshore Betting in the Wake of State Legalization
Recently, a slew of steps have been taken both on the federal and state level to spread legalized gambling to the physical United States. Numerous states have legalized both online gaming as well as online poker, with many more taking steps towards legalization. Additionally, the Supreme Court has struck down the federal statute that banned sports wagering, setting the stage for states to legalize sports betting since there is no longer any federal prohibition.
Now, bettors are not forced to place their wagers offshore in the event that they wish to gamble. Bettors now have various options for wagering that do not necessarily require the multitude of hoops that they have to jump through to fund offshore accounts. With a couple of exceptions, there are definite advantages to moving gambling activity back onshore provided that it is legal in a gambler’s jurisdiction.
The first major advantage of betting inside the U.S. is the protection that comes from regulation. While many people naturally decry government regulation, gambling is one industry where greater regulation makes business more safe and transparent. When gambling onshore, bettors are not subject to the unregulated business practices of offshore operators from which gamblers have zero recourse. Offshore bettors simply have to take what they are given by the operator and their only alternative is to switch their business to another operator. Moving accounts requires both a steep fee to close an account as well as open a new account.
The second major advantage of gambling in the United States is that debacles such as the frequent closures of online casinos can be avoided. Being subject to regulation imposes certain requirements on casinos. State regulations touch upon issues such as the safekeeping of customer funds. Additionally, nearly all states that have permitted online gambling to require operators to partner with a land-based casino that is already in the state. The use of established businesses with healthier bottom lines as teaming partners lends greater safety to online wagering in the United States. Conversely, some bettors may value the greater anonymity that is afforded by offshore casinos and may prefer to keep their business there.
As more states legalize both online casinos and sports gambling, it will be an open question whether that will impact the offshore betting market. The size of the offshore betting market is very large with estimated revenues between $2.5 billion to $3 billion. There are currently 12 to 15 million sports bettors in the U.S. The total U.S. market for online gaming is estimated to top $50 billion in 2018.
State Enforcement of Gambling Laws
In addition to the federal laws that govern illegal gambling, states also have their own regulatory regimes that address gambling within their borders. In the past, states had also attempted to take legal action with regard to online gambling. For example, Minnesota had attempted to force internet service providers to block access to offshore gambling websites for state residents before being forced to back down in the wake of a lawsuit. Other states took action against daily fantasy sports operators, often forcing the operators out of the state unless legalization occurred.
Now that online gambling is legal in some states, those states have a motive to curtail offshore betting that occurs in those states. With states receiving a cut of online gambling through taxes and licensing fees, gambling that occurs offshore cuts the state out of a valuable revenue source. Some states have taken measures against offshore betting. For example, Nevada law contains a “bad actor” clause that prevents those that have previously engaged in bad conduct from obtaining a license in the state. As a result, PokerStars is unable to obtain a Nevada license because of its prior illegal activities. New Jersey is also taking action to crack down on the operations of sites such as Bovada. New Jersey intends to deny or revoke licenses of those licensees who have connections with offshore gaming.
It is usually stated that have established gambling presences that are the most aggressive against offshore operators. New Jersey has been at the forefront of enforcement efforts against offshore betting. Now, in addition to enhanced enforcement efforts from the states, offshore operators will now be facing competition from licensed and regulated domestic casinos.
In any event, states have undertaken efforts to ensure that those playing its own games are located within its borders. All states that have legalized online betting have done so with the limitation that players must be physically located within the state at the time that they place a wager. One cannot bet on a Delaware contest when located in New Jersey and vice versa.
Free Betting News & Bonus OffersFind Out When You Can Legally Bet in Your StateOffshore betting for US residents has gotten a bad rap from gambling opponents, and we are here to set the record straight about whether or not online gambling at internationally based sites is legitimate, safe, and legal.
Whether you want to learn about the legalities of gambling online as a US player, or you want to find out which offshore betting sites are the most trusted, we’ve got you covered.
The gambling landscape in the US is not very easy to navigate through let alone the misrepresented nature of betting options available to Americans from operators located outside of the United States.
Here we’ve put together an official offshore betting guide that breaks down the relevant information into manageable pieces to arm US residents with the data needed to make informed decisions about gambling entertainment.
Best Offshore Betting Sites – All USA Players Accepted
You will notice we only recommend a handful of sites below. The reason is simple, these are by far the most reputable in the industry which is very important to us as it should be to you. We could easily provide a list that is long, including any gambling site located outside of the US that accepts American players. Instead, we decided to go with quality over quantity.
Site Name | Bonus Offer | Payout | U.S. | Join |
---|---|---|---|---|
100% Bonus Max $3,000 | 24-48 Hours | |||
300% Bonus Max $9,000 | 24-48 Hours | |||
400% Bonus Max $4,000 | Up To 5 Days | |||
200% Bonus Max $10,000 | 24-48 Hours | |||
500% Bonus Max $5000 | 24-48 Hours | |||
100% Bonus Max $3000 | 24-48 Hours |
A few reasons we’ve settled on these specific brands:
- They are legally licensed, possess legitimate compliance certifications for fair gaming practices, and are subject to strict regulatory oversight from respected governing jurisdictions.
- They are available to enjoy from your PC, laptop, smartphone or tablet, each with well designed and responsive mobile applications.
- Their security protocols are just as robust as what you’d find in a premier financial institution, making them among the safest online betting sites out there.
- Their bonus offers are attractive, fair and don’t carry unreasonable wagering requirements.
- Their banking suites are accommodating to US bettors and include options for using cryptocurrency to fund accounts and cash out winnings. They also among the fastest paying offshore gambling sites accepting American residents.
- The quality of their betting experience and gaming options exceeds licensing requirements and customer expectations.
- They offer multiple venues, including online casino, poker, and sports betting opportunities.
Types of Gambling Options Available at Online Betting Sites
There are three major niches of online gambling that are the essence of the industry, and several smaller niches that still see tons of action.
- Online Casinos: The brands in this guide offer multiple platforms, including a casino gaming portal that includes RNG games as well as live dealer games.
- Online Sportsbooks: Sports betting is the hottest gambling platform in the US right now, with domestic sports gambling expansion gaining momentum as well as growing popularity and access to reliable bookmakers operating overseas.
- Online Poker Sites: Online poker was probably the first gambling venue to gain some respect. While it is fairly new to state-regulated gambling markets, internet poker has been popular among American players for decades through online poker rooms based outside of the United States.
- Other Online Gambling Options: In addition the above niches, you will also see internet wagering opportunities for bingo, horse betting, esports, lottery, financials wagering, contests and more.
State Regulated VS Offshore Gambling Sites – The Legalities Of Placing Bets Online
Historically, US lawmakers have taken an opposing position when it comes to online gambling. This caused the US-based online gambling market to remain extinct for many years and allowed the overseas gambling market to flourish and offer their services to Americans. It didn’t take long for gambling sites operating overseas to recognize a revenue niche that was ripe for the taking.
If you’ve seen the news concerning gambling entertainment at all in the last few years, you’ll know that state-regulated gambling expansion is alive and well due to some major changes in US federal gambling laws.
While these laws have never prohibited offshore betting that is done through legally licensed and regulated internet gambling sites operating outside of the United States, they were very restrictive when it came to domestic gambling businesses.
Is Offshore Gambling Legal?
Yes, it is, as long as it takes place at legally sanctioned destinations. There are no US federal laws that make it a crime for Americans to gamble online at betting sites outside of the country. There are only two states that have outright prohibited online gambling from all sources, including overseas websites, those being Washington and Connecticut.
As long as an online gambling site is licensed and regulated by a legitimate governing jurisdiction, then it is operating legally within the industry and can offer their services to whom they choose (within the confines of the regulations to which they are subject to), including American residents.
There are gambling sites that are not legitimate and are providing services online without licensing and other necessary credentials that would allow them to operate legally within the industry. Placing bets at those types of websites constitutes illegal gambling entertainment.
The sites you see listed on this site do not fall into this category. Unlicensed gambling is considered illegal in most regions around the world, including the United States.
Is State Regulated Online Gambling Legal?
Gambling sites licensed and regulated by US states do not intersect with offshore betting sites in any way. While domestic and international gambling sites may compete with one another for market share, one does not affect the accessibility or legality of the other.
Residents who live in states that allow offshore gambling and domestic online gambling are simply fortunate enough to have the best of both worlds.
Do US Gambling Laws Dictate the Legal Status of Offshore Betting For US Residents?
Yes and no. There have been three primary federal gambling laws that come into play for American gamblers: The UIGEA, PASPA, and the Federal Wire Act. Two of those laws, the Federal Wire Act and PASPA, have undergone dramatic changes in application and interpretation over the last 8 years, and it has impacted the domestic US gambling market significantly.
Something that hasn’t changed very much is our access to online gambling from websites that are based within international jurisdictions outside of the USA.
None of the federal laws mentioned above have any bearing on American access to online betting from foreign sites because none of them prohibit it or even address it from a player perspective.
Both the Federal Wire Act and PASPA specifically target domestic gambling operations in the United States, and the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act solely targets banks and credit card companies to impose regulations on how gambling related transactions can be processed.
This is good news for residents of the US, as it gives us the freedom to engage in legally sanctioned online gambling without the fear of violating any domestic gambling laws.
However, it also places a heavy responsibility on us to practice due diligence to ensure that we only access legitimately licensed websites that are regulated by a genuine governing body.
The US government is not going to work on your behalf should you gamble with an illegal, illegitimate gambling site that steals your money. Failure to take this responsibility seriously could result in you being at risk of financial theft, identity theft, and exploitation through other crimes.
This is why it is crucial that you rely on resources provided by industry professionals who know their way around this maze.
Why Use Our Guide To Learn About Placing Bets Online Instead of Your Own Google Search?
Anyone with an Internet connection can check Google or Bing and find a wide assortment of gambling information. So what makes our resource site different in that regard? For starters, we’re here to deal only with offshore sites, which means sites that operate outside of US jurisdiction in regions such as Caracas, Costa Rica, Gibraltar, Canada, Panama, the UK, Curacao, and the Cayman Islands, to name a few.
We also have a unique perspective on the wagering market and online betting because not only are we industry insiders, we are experienced and knowledgeable gamblers as well.
This is why we can explain the legalities from a layman’s point of view, recommend legitimate and high-quality gambling sites, and provide insight regarding both the benefits and downsides to betting online. We can also provide betting tips, strategy ideas and other forms of helpful information that only comes from years in the business.
FAQ’s
Offshore Gambling Sites Poker Sites
The Advantages of Using an Offshore Betting Site
Choosing to gamble internationally online does come with its perks and advantages that the up and coming state regulated options often struggle to compete with.
Here are just a few advantages to betting offshore:
- Attractive bonus offers that can double, triple or even quadruple your starting bankroll.
- The ultimate convenience that comes with 24/7 access from anywhere you have an Internet connection
- Offshore gambling banking methods that cater directly to you – including cryptocurrencies that offer instant deposits and same day payouts.
- Legal gambling without having to travel or even leave your home
- Mobile access to casino, poker, and sports gambling.
- Sophisticated games that present fair odds and a realistic experience
- Feature-rich oftware that is reliable, looks great and reflects the latest technological advancements in online gaming.
- Gaming sites that are regulated by reputable governing bodies so you know you’re being treated fairly
Though while online gambling does have its advantages, just know that these advantages are only found with legitimate, reputable gaming sites. If you end up playing at a questionable site, you are putting yourself at risk.
Tips for Winning at an Offshore Online Gambling Site
As gamblers ourselves, it’s not just enough to tell you about the best online gaming sites and how you can gamble legally at Internet wagering sites. We also want you to win! The majority of our readers winning doesn’t hurt us. Just the opposite, in fact.
The more you win, based on our information, the more reputable we come across as gambling advocates. So when you sign up for a casino or sportsbook, we want you to win and win big.
Here are a few tips we suggest to help you win.
Okay, let’s say you put in $50 on a 100% deposit match and have $100 to play with. A great starting point! Now, what sense does it make for you to play $10 a spin on a slot machine, or to go bet $80 on the Raiders to beat the Chiefs at home? You have to manage your risks; e.g. you have to manage your money.
Start slowly. Minimizing your risks means maximizing your rewards, and while rewards from only playing 10% of your stack may be slow to start, the pace will eventually pick up as your stack grows. Slow and steady wins the race here. To start, try not to exceed 10% of your total stack at once.
A great tip to use here is to only choose a reputable site. Sure, that new site that you see advertised on some off-page on Google might be offering you an insane welcome bonus. But what do you actually know about them? They could have a payout rate below 80%, which means few people get their money.
They might not be recognized as a fair play casino, which means the odds might be a little more against you here than elsewhere. They may employ stall tactics to keep your winnings out of reach. By gambling only with the sites deemed reputable, you get a true-to-life experience and won’t be ripped off by sites looking to make a profit by cheating.
So, you see that RealTime Gaming has a dozen or so slot machines that share a progressive jackpot of $5 million. You know that the odds of hitting this are just like the lotto, meaning you probably won’t win. But that doesn’t mean you still shouldn’t play. For starters, progressive machines are usually cheaper to play.
And they’re typically more exciting to play, which means you have more chances of winning on more lines and more patterns. So if you see a progressive pot, don’t shy away from it. Though you might not win the whole enchilada, there’s still money to be made.
Throwing down half your stack on red on roulette is a gamble. Betting your stack on one game is a gamble. To win, you don’t want to “gamble” in this sense; you instead want to play the odds. Figure out the best odds at the roulette table. Are they the 2:1 odds? The 4:1, the 32:1? Which bet puts you in the best position to win? Extrapolate this to things like sports betting as well.
Bet on a team not as a fan but on the team most statistically likely to win. On any single game, it’s hard to tell where the numbers will end up, but over time numbers even out. Math is the only form of “proof” that exists in the universe, and numbers really never lie. If you stick with the odds, you will win far more than you lose. And that’s how you build a nice bankroll.
Let’s say you joined up with Casino X and you see that they have a nifty promotion. On your second deposit, you can earn another bonus! Well, take advantage of this. Even though you might have some money in there already, put some more in to take advantage of the free money. The more you have in your stack, the higher the percentage of that stack you can play.
And as long as you’re playing based on our practical tips, which means you’ll be following smart odds, that’s more money that you’ll end up winning. Watch for incentives and promotions, such as free spins promotions, blackjack-specific promos that give you free chips, etc. Most legit casinos will have these sorts of promos available to loyal players.
Our resource guide isn’t some wannabe Fortune company looking to go public on the stock market, nor are we about inundating you with ads and tons of referral links. We’re real gamblers who seek to provide genuine information that you can use to find legal online gambling sites will give you a rich, rewarding and enjoyable gaming experience.
Popular Pages
Offshore Sports Betting Sites – From live and prop bets to sports off the beaten path, we attempt to cover a little bit of everything and clue you in on which sportsbooks will be the best fit for you. Sportsbooks need to meet our high standards, and we give you a rundown of what we’re looking for.
Offshore Gambling Sites Poker No Deposit
Offshore Casinos – international destinations catering to Americans aren’t always automatically good options. Find out which online casinos are legally licensed, reputable and accept US players.
Offshore Poker Rooms – The poker boom has brought about thousands upon thousands of sites, and many of them are located overseas. Are these sites legal? What makes a good poker site? These are the questions we answer for you in our poker section.
Offshore Bingo Sites – Bingo is played in a lot of locations, but it’s still technically illegal in America. Check out our bingo section to find out how you can play bingo legally and on the best bingo sites that the Internet has to offer.
Offshore Horse Betting Sites – Horse racing may be a small niche sport to the world, but we take it seriously as a contender. We work to fill you in on the best racebooks operating internationally, and we tell you what you should expect to find on a quality site.
Offshore Betting Site Reviews – We only review the most reputable offshore betting sites in the industry. Our reviews are fair and impartial covering everything players would want to know before they signup with a site.