Online Gaming

  • The online gaming world can be a profitable arena to invest and reap financial rewards as many gaming operators find that relatively fewer resources are necessary to logistically run an online business dof this type...

American Gaming Law

  • American gaming law is a complex and multi-faceted area of jurisprudence as the gaming rules and regulations are not uniform throughout the United States and its outlying territories...

  • Gaming has become a booming industry in recent years. At the beginning of the 1990s gambling became more prevalent in the United States through rapid growth of casinos located on Native American reservations.

  • Also, there was an increase in so-called “riverboat” gambling establishments located on rivers in certain states. Towards the end of the 1990s and at the beginning of the new millennium, the internet increasingly became the venue of choice for gaming activity. The internet provided many opportunities in the gaming sector, but there was also a great deal of fraud that occurred in connection with internet gambling websites.

  • The game of Poker saw a resurgence between 1999 and 2009 which was likely a byproduct of increased television coverage of events such as the World Series of Poker. As players increased their demands for games such as Texas Hold’Em, Casinos responded by providing evermore luxuriant poker rooms, but the real explosion was on the internet. Online poker saw massive growth in players between 2000 and 2007. As a result, many in the “brick and mortar” gaming industry began to take note of the lucrative opportunities in the online arena.

    As poker became a favored pastime for Americans, there was an explosion of websites dedicated to online poker. Just as the online poker sensation seemed to be moving to a new level, government regulations were enacted which placed severe restrictions upon online gaming establishments (both reputable and less-than-reputable). Since the promulgation of the UGIEA (get cite) there has been a significant drop in online gaming revenues, but many feel that this is only temporary.

    There are those in the gaming industry who feel that the restrictions placed upon American players cannot last forever as many of the restrictions are virtually unenforceable, but this situation has lead to a Catch-22 insofar as the legitimate online gaming operators are staying out of the American market in an effort to avoid civil and possibly criminal penalties. Unfortunately, this has left the online gaming environment in disarray and likely caused more fraud as many of the “operators” catering to the American market are simply “short con” fraudsters hoping to take money from players without paying out winners. This is a situation that must be rectified in an effort to create an online gaming environment that adheres to legal and ethical principles.

    In order to operate an online casino in the coming years it will be increasingly necessary to retain the assistance of highly specialized legal counsel with experience in the gaming industry. Furthermore, as online gaming is not “brick and mortar” based it is increasingly necessary to retain a firm with a global presence and experience in handling multi-jurisdictional corporate matters. As opportunities continue to blossom in online gaming a good lawyer, like a good croupier, can make all the difference in the world.