- The post-PASPA era we now find ourselves in has transformed the sports betting market in the United States. We now have access to multiple state-regulated online and mobile sportsbooks as well as several reputable and secure mobile and online sportsbooks operating legally offshore.
- Sports betting followed in 2018, with New Jersey again leading the way. Why are so many states legalizing sports betting now? After years of being relegated to mainly Nevada (and the black market), legal online sports betting is now growing quickly throughout the United States.
- States With Legal Soccer Betting Legal soccer betting is rolling out on a state-by-state basis in the United States as lawmakers across the country introduce, negotiate and vote on legislation.
Yesterday morning, I was having a conversation with a dear friend of mine in another state. She asked me if there was a lot of betting on coronavirus situations. I replied that I thought the upcoming elections were probably generating more action.
She replied, “Isn’t it illegal to gamble on political elections in the United States?”
I’m not sure I knew, so I thought I’d do some research.
Here’s what I learned about whether you can gamble on elections in the United States:
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The United States has a complex history with sports betting. After an almost decade long court battle it was deemed legal by the Supreme Court of the United States in May 2018. Sports betting is officially being rolled out across the United States, with nine states having legal online sportsbooks taking bets. Many more US states have legislation in the works to regulate online sports betting. Welcome to BettingPlanet.com’s guide to sports betting in the USA, which includes the top betting sites for each state, a run.
Want a little more info? Jump ahead and learn more about the latest election betting odds and lines.
Betting on United States Elections Isn’t a New Thing
Betting on presidential elections has a long and notorious history in the United States.
And just like the sports betting scene, the action on Presidential elections can be thought of as a marketplace.
From shortly after the Civil War until shortly after World War II, markets for betting on the presidential election were big and efficient. Not only that, but the favorites in betting markets also tended to win elections.
I’d contend that it probably hasn’t, really. It’s now more of an underground betting activity conducted with offshore sportsbooks. Previously, betting on presidential elections was an organized activity – even when it was illegal.
But we do have access to more betting opportunities than ever before. Also, modern scientific polling has replaced some of the interest in betting markets and their predictions for who’s going to be the next President of the United States.
Historically, so-called betting commissioners managed these betting markets and used standard contracts for that purpose. Sometimes you’d see more money betting on elections than were being put into action on stocks and bonds.
In the late 19th and early 20th century, you could get daily odds from various newspapers for at least a month before the election.
The most significant election, in terms of dollars wagered, was the election of 1916. Bettors wagered over $165 million on that contest. (Those dollars have been adjusted for inflation.)
Betting Markets Have Historically Been Good at Predicting Winners
The betting markets on elections in New York City almost always predicted an election’s winner. In fact, the market was also a good predictor of whether a vote was going to be close.
The favorite in these betting markets won almost three out of four times over 50 years. That’s even more impressive when you consider that the practice of conducting scientific polls didn’t begin until the 1930s.
Much of the historical information related to election betting markets between the end of the Civil War and the first half of the 20th century can be found in more detail in a paper on historical prediction markets written by Paul W. Rhode and Koleman S. Strumpf.
The conclusion so far, though, is that regardless of the legalities involved, people have been able to bet on presidential elections in the United States for a long time.
And, before polling became standard, betting markets were the de facto means of predicting election outcomes and were remarkably accurate.
Betting Political Elections Is Illegal Throughout the United States
Betting on sports used to be illegal almost everywhere, but over the last couple of years, legislation has loosened up regarding betting on sports.
People also bet on entertainment events like who’s going to win the Oscars, although that kind of betting isn’t as prevalent and isn’t legal in as many states.
This doesn’t mean it’s illegal everywhere. The United Kingdom has always been more open-minded about gambling than the United States, and bets on political events are still common there.
And some bookmakers in other countries are happy to take action from U.S. citizens regardless of the legality in the bettor’s jurisdiction.
Why Is It Illegal to Bet on Elections in the United States?
One of the concerns related to betting on sports is that it might corrupt the integrity of the sport. The Black Sox Scandal in 1919 is a classic example, although it seems to me that outlawing sports betting has done little to prevent such activity.
Everyone I know bets on sports, either with a local bookmaker, an online sportsbook, or both.
There’s a big difference, though.
With sports, the big concern is that bettors will bribe athletes to lose on purpose. In fact, countless movies have been made about boxers who were bribed to throw a match.
Think about it.
If your candidate is a massive longshot, according to the bookmakers, you might be less likely to show up and vote – ensuring that your candidate will lose.
I think this is a lousy argument for making election betting illegal, though.
Polls might easily have the same effect, but, as far as I know, no one has suggested we ban polling.
And, even though you can’t legally bet on an election in the United States, the bookmakers in other countries are still taking action. It’s easy to find out what the odds are for your favorite candidate.
I’ve been watching the gambling industry in the United States for a couple of decades now, and if I’ve learned anything, it’s this:
Changes in gambling laws happen SLOWLY.
United States Sports Betting Online
How to Bet on the Presidential Election Anyway
First, I’m no lawyer. I don’t even play one on television. I have no idea what the legal risks are when it comes to betting on presidential elections.
But if you’re determined to bet on the presidential election anyway, I can offer some suggestions.
- Your first option is to find a likeminded individual who’s willing to bet with you. This should be someone you know and trust who won’t stiff you. Betting with such a person eliminates the vig, which is the amount that the sportsbook charges you to place a bet.
- Your second option is to find an online sportsbook operating from another country that’s willing to take action from a United States citizen on the election. Many such businesses exist.
As far as choosing the best political betting site is concerned, pay close attention to the bookmaker’s reputation. You’re talking about transferring money to and from a company that’s operating in an at-best grey legal area.
Such sportsbooks claim that the action they’re taking is governed by the jurisdiction where they operate. Presumably, it’s legal there to bet on such activities. United States prosecutors have a different attitude, which is why people like Calvin Ayre are hard to find.
The point is that you need to be comfortable that the book is going to pay you off if and when you win your bets. Some offshore sportsbooks are notorious for stiffing their customers.
Once you find such a sportsbook, you’ll need to find a way to get money to and from the company.
Once you’ve established an account at such a company and funded it, actually placing the bet is just a matter of finding the wager you want to make, inputting the amount you wish to wager, and pointing and clicking.
Odds on the 2020 US Presidential Election
Odds at MyBookie
- Joe Biden (-155)
- Donald Trump (+115)
- Kamala Harris (+1500)
- Mike Pence (+10000)
- Anyone Else (+35000)
Visit MyBookie
Odds at Bovada
- Joe Biden (-165)
- Donald Trump (+125)
- Kamala Harris (+7500)
- Mike Pence (+7500)
United States Sports Betting
Visit Bovada
Odds at BetOnline
- Joe Biden (-180)
- Donald Trump (+160)
- Kamala Harris (+10000)
- Mike Pence (+10000)
- Jo Jorgensen (+50000)
Visit BetOnline
It’s no secret that offshore sportsbooks take action on presidential elections. I see the odds being published and updated regularly on various news sites.
So let’s look at recent odds for the presidential election at BetOnline.ag has Joe Biden at -180 and Donald Trump at +160. You could also bet on Hillary Clinton at +6000.
The -180 odds on Joe Biden mean that if you bet $180 on Biden winning, you win $100 if he wins the election.
The +160 odds on Donald Trump mean that if you bet $100 on Trump winning, you win $160 if he wins the election.
The minus sign indicates that he’s the favorite, so that’s the amount you must risk to win $100.
Hillary Clinton is clearly a longshot, so if you wager $100 on her winning, and she somehow pulls it off, you’d win $600.
Even with 60 to 1 odds, though, I think betting on Hillary is a sucker bet.
Conclusion
Sure, people have been doing so for decades.
But it isn’t legal to take action on such wagers.
My advice is to obey the law, but if you want to put a little money down on the next presidential election, at least only risk money you can afford to lose – especially if you’re betting with an offshore sportsbook rather than a buddy of yours.
When discussing legal online sports betting, the majority of America's government has a very regressive, prohibition-style attitude towards it, buying into a negative perspective concerning the morality of gambling entertainment. This is what has led to a variety of state gambling laws in the past.
There are no US federal laws that make it a crime for Americans to place bets at offshore sportsbooks that are operating legally within the industry. Silver oak casino latest no deposit bonus codes. There are two states that legally prohibit all online gambling, domestic or offshore, leaving residents in Connecticut and Washington without legally sanctioned online betting options, though they have yet to start enforcing those restrictions.
For the most part, state lawmakers are becoming more progressive concerning betting entertainment and recognize the value that this type of revenue stream can bring to a state. Individual states are actively analyzing what the legalization of domestic sports gambling can provide them with in terms of opportunities, tourism, and tax revenue, and many have already taken action one way or the other through new legislation.
Iowa, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and West Virginia currently permit state-regulated online sports gambling, with nearly two dozen additional states having launched land-based sportsbooks. Individual territories began embracing sports betting the moment that PASPA was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in the infamous NJ case, with multiple states having had their legislation ready and waiting should the ruling go in the Garden State's favor.
United States Sports Betting Sites
Below we'll take a look at the relevant US federal gambling laws, and explain how state gambling laws intersect with federal laws to impact online and brick and mortar sportsbook gambling, as well as what these laws have to say about the legal status of offshore sports betting entertainment.
The Federal Laws on the Books
The sections below will detail and explain how each major federal law affects domestic gambling opportunities in the US.
The Federal Wire Act
Passed back in 1961, the Federal Wire Act was made law in an effort to curtail the illegal gambling activities taking place over the phone by organized crime syndicates. It prohibited the transmission of wagers or betting information from being carried across state lines via telegraph or telephone. The Federal Wire Act targeted these illegal bookie operations as a means to curb the mafia from manipulating games and making a profit through these tactics.
This law was strictly focused on interstate gambling, and only targeted those accepting bets and not the individuals placing the bets. The goal was to crack down on illegal gambling services, not prosecute bettors. Between the DOJ Legal Opinion of 2011 and the repeal of PASPA, today's application of the Wire Act prohibits any gambling business from accepting bets across state lines or from foreign sources.
With the changes still being implemented, we are not sure yet how this will affect those states that had entered into interstate gambling pacts with one another, sharing player pools for their online gambling initiatives. Once that aspect of the legal situation becomes more clear we will update that information here.
The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act
Also known as the Bradley Act, or just PASPA, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act was a sweeping federal regulation that passed in 1992, with the supposed intent of protecting the integrity of sports by making sports betting illegal.
At the time the bill was passed, there were sports lotteries in Delaware, Montana, and Oregon, as well as licensed and regulated sports betting in Nevada, so those four states were exempt.
The law effectively prevented the expansion of the sports betting market throughout the United States in what many categorized as a discriminatory law that favored a few states while restricting others. Malibu casino free spins.
New Jersey took on the mission of challenging the law and after several years of court battles, was given a favorable outcome by the highest court in the land as SCOTUS ruled PASPA as unconstitutional, nullifying the law.
As of May 14, 2018, each individual state now has the authority to dictate sports betting laws within their borders. They can now choose to authorize or prohibit sports betting at their pleasure. Following PASPA's repeal, we have seen multiple states move forward with legislation that legalizes sports gambling at the state level.
The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act
This is the big one that shook the gambling industry to its core. Online gambling really started to explode during the early 2000's, especially in the realm of online poker. In 2006, then-President Bush signed into law the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, known all over as the UIGEA. In a nutshell, the UIGEA placed very stringent regulatory restrictions concerning how gambling-related transactions could be processed.
The most reputable sites started a countdown and allowed Americans to withdraw and closeout their accounts. Many trusted gambling sites left the US market at this time. After the dust settled, and the financial and gambling industries learned how to comply with the regulatory oversight provided by the UIGEA, many of these reputable gambling sites have returned to provide services to US sports bettors.
The UIGEA did end up making the online gambling market safer for both the bettors and the operators by imposing a more reliable and stricter regulatory structure for how gambling-related transactions are processed. Gambling sites invested in top tier payment processors while all parties implemented higher-level security protocols to ensure the validity and safety of those transactions that are processed.
While US online gambling funding options are still somewhat limited in some regards, things have stabilized. The emergence of cryptocurrencies have filled the void left by the elimination of US-friendly e-wallets and failed credit card transactions. The UIGEA does not make it illegal for Americans to gamble online. The law simply regulates how online gambling transactions are processed.
The 2011 Department of Justice's Interpretation of Federal Laws
With the growth of online commerce, several states became interested in offering lottery game services online. This raised questions concerning the application of the Federal Wire Act, driving the DOJ to issue a clarification of the law's reach.
The Department of Justice ruled, and accurately so, that the federal government had no right to tell states that they could not sanction online gambling and therefore established that each US state has the authority to determine their own fate concerning online gambling with the exception of sports betting.
The repeal of PASPA took care of freeing sports gambling as the last remaining federally prohibited form of state-regulated online gambling. As of now, all 50 states have the legal ability to legalize and offer online gambling such as casinos, poker, bingo, and sports wagering. To date, only a handful of states have taken advantage of legal domestic online gambling. However, many states have pending bills to allow various forms of sports betting.
The 2019 DOJ Interpretation of Federal Gambling Laws
Following the repeal of PASPA in 2018, the reach of the Federal Wire Act has again come into question. In a new interpretation, which many believe was coerced by anti-online gambling activist Sheldon Adelson, the Department of Justice has indicated that the Wire Act prohibits not only interstate wagers but also the sharing of information across state lines.
This determination will certainly harm those states that have entered into interstate gambling compacts to share player pools and resources with other states. The opinion is being formally challenged through a lawsuit headed up by New Hampshire. As the situation unfolds, we will provide updates here.
What You Need to Know Going Forward
All of this legal information is good knowledge to have under your belt, no doubt about it. However, all you really need to know going forward is that there are no federal laws making gambling illegal in the United States either online or offline, and this includes domestic and offshore sports betting. States now determine the legal status of all gambling entertainment within their borders. As a sports betting resource guide, we want to make this point clear.
For those of you interested in betting on sport but who live in a state that has not authorized state-regulated sportsbooks, you'll have to either travel to a state with legalized sports betting or use a legitimate offshore sportsbook such as the ones you find listed on this site. You can check out our list of states that allow sports betting here or follow our list of recommended online sportsbooks.
US Gambling Laws
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