The popularity of gambling has led to revisions of major gambling laws around the world. Initially, gambling was not legalized in a lot of countries but due to the capital the industry is bringing forth and the amount of revenue being generated each year with the rise in employment rates, gambling started being accepted worldwide. Currently, about 26% of the adult population gamble around the world making up more than 1.6 billion people.
The United States however did not legalize gambling until recently. Online gambling was legalized only in the 90s when the citizens could join one of the American casinos at Non Stop Casino and play classic games like poker, roulette, blackjack, baccarat, pokies, and slots. Gambling in the US has always been associated with crime and fraud so many people were afraid of getting involved in gambling. Therefore, the first Gambling Commission was not formed in the USA rather it was formed in Canada comprising also of Montreal and Quebec. The Gambling Commission formed was the Kahnawake Gaming Commission. This alone generated a revenue of $800 million by 1998.
Online gambling was almost banned by the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act but could not remove online gambling completely. The Federal Wire Act was however imposed in 2002, restricting sports gambling. Another act was the Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in 2006 made bank transfers to casinos illegal while the Federal Wire Act had banned sports gambling all over the USA.
Only in 2012 did the state of Delaware proclaim its freedom of gambling which led to other states legalizing gambling around the US through the Delaware Gambling Competitiveness Act. Now there are quite a number of states legalizing gambling and most countries opting for a legal gambling system including locations like Nevada, which initially opposed gambling.
Delaware
Delaware became the first state in the USA to legalize gambling and opt for legal gambling through the Delaware Gaming Competitiveness Act in 2012. Since the legalization, Delaware can now play all sorts of casino games such as poker, roulette, blackjack, baccarat, slots, pokies, and more. The hub for all gaming is Oregon which includes sports betting but they are not completely in for the idea of online poker.
West Virginia
All forms of betting have been legalized in West Virginia including sports betting and online casinos. In fact, West Virginia was one of the states that came forward with the idea of gambling legalization along with Delaware. In 2019, all forms of online gambling were officially made lawful with the passing of Bill 2934 or the West Virginia Lottery Interactive Wagering Act.
Michigan
Michigan also legalized online gambling in 2019, which was a very recent affair. The step to legalize online gambling was taken by their governor Gretchen Whitmer under the Lawful Sports Betting Act. Michigan does not have many restrictions on wagering and people from the state can enjoy betting freely.
New Jersey
Online gambling was legalized in the year 2013 and was one of the first states to legalize it after Delaware. New Jersey has the availability of online gambling and sports gambling along with access to land-based casinos. Games like online poker and other forms of gambling are legal in this state. Not only that, New Jersey has the highest revenue among all states in the US, earning up to 1.4 billion cumulatively, with $25 million being generated in a year. Gambling is extremely popular in this state.
Pennsylvania
Like Michigan, gambling was legalized in Pennsylvania in 2019 but they had legal land-based casinos since 2017. The introduction of online gambling in this state has made gambling more popular overall and now players have access to most online casino games. The governor of the state, Tom Wolf made it lawful by signing HB 271. The legalization has helped gambling flourish and a few of the popular slots saw their origin here.
Conclusion
The initiative taken by a few of the states in the US has led to the radical legalization of online gambling across the country. These few states give full legal rights to all forms of online gambling and sports betting along with land-based casinos. Right now, almost all states of the USA legalize gambling to some extent and a few parts of the states have seen being involved in gambling.
The slow but progressive acceptance of American gaming providers has made the industry grow in the USA over time. Currently, only the states of Utah and Hawaii do not allow any form of gambling. Hence, we can conclude that the US can be a new huge market for gambling.
