Gambling may seem to be a quintessentially US activity. After all, Nevada is home to the (unofficial) casino capital of the world in Las Vegas. Betting on everything from number games to horseracing is also firmly embedded into many parts of American culture.
However, it’s also a country in which the 50 states are permitted to set their own laws on gambling, just as they are for everything from the permissible age to drink in bars to zoning.
This means that there has never been one unified law across the whole country, and great differences exist between states like New Jersey in the North and Alabama in the South.
If one wants to generalize, northern states tend to be more liberal in outlook, while southern states take a more conservative approach. This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise as the South has traditionally been more conservative in many areas.
The laws as they stand
There are two national laws that have an effect on gambling. The first of these is the 1961 Federal Wire Act. Even though it was passed long before online gaming existed, it effectively forbids it. It was introduced at a time due to mobs and organized crime by Kennedy; however, the law still stands to this day. That’s because it makes it illegal to transmit information or payments related to betting across state lines.
However, when it comes to online gambling, the laws are unclear due to how outdated it is. The second is the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. This forbids online gaming operators from taking money for games of chance.
A now redundant third piece of legislation was the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. For many years, this prevented betting on any form of sports. However, in May 2018, the US Supreme Court ruled that this was in contravention of the 10th Amendment of the American Constitution and overruled it in a historic turnaround. Instead, this allowed individual states to set their own laws regarding sports betting.
In 2021, Canada followed suit similarly with their online casino legislation. The Canadian Criminal Code was changed, which altered their gambling legislation, allowing provincial governments to create their own regulations. This allowed citizens to finally access Canadian online casino platforms legally.
Some southern states like Louisiana have gone along with the ruling and legalized sports betting. Others, like Alabama, remain steadfastly opposed to it.
Different states, different rules
Space prevents us from giving a full rundown of all the 13 southern states’ laws on gambling. But this table gives an indication of some of the variations.
| State | Gambling laws and restrictions |
| Alabama | All gambling has been forbidden since 1901. However, there are tribal casinos in Atmore, Montgomery, and Wetumpka.
Pari-mutuel betting is allowed if it’s licensed by the state and run through the municipal gambling commission for the area. There is also live dog racing at Birmingham Racecourse, the state’s only place where live betting is legal. State lotteries are illegal in Alabama and so is online gambling via offshore sites. |
| Georgia | Another very strict state, Georgia, allows charity raffles, some bingo games with relatively small prize pools, and the state lottery.
Players from Georgia will be accepted in Poker rooms and offshore casinos; however, online gambling is not legal in the State. Georgia residents can play casino games aboard the Emerald Princess cruise ship once it leaves US waters and is at least 12 nautical miles from the shore. |
| Kentucky | Gambling in Kentucky is allowed in state lotteries and pari-mutuel betting is allowed on the state’s many racetracks, as you’d expect from a state where horse racing rules.
Off-track gambling on horse racing is the only form of online gambling allowed in the state. However, daily fantasy sports are legal, but gambling in offshore casinos is not. And while the Kentucky authorities have never pursued action against individual players on these charges, they could do so at any time. |
| Louisiana | As befits the state which was famous in the 19th century for its paddleboat casinos up the Mississippi, Louisiana offers a range of legal gambling activities:
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| Texas | Although it prohibits gambling, Texas law makes exceptions for these activities:
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There are always going to be ultra-conservative states like Alabama and Georgia. But the more liberal ones could start to be more permissive, especially when they start to do the math about the extra tax income it could add to their coffers.
In Australia, New South Wales pokies (otherwise known as slots) took $4.3bn from gamblers in just six months so a casino with an online slot option in one of the larger states could be expected to have a similar impact if taxed correctly, this could have a positive bearing on public services in the area.
Although gambling is one of the country’s most popular online activities, it’s not exactly welcomed with open arms by many southern states. But there may be certain changes afoot. Last year, North Carolina introduced new legislation to allow sports betting.
This may well prove to be the thin end of the wedge that encourages other states to reassess their attitudes to all forms of wagering, including online casinos. But that could still be quite a way off, and we’ll just have to wait and see.
