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Promotion of internet casinos, poker and sports gaming is illegal

by secrets2010
33 replies
I was reading on CJ: "Promotion of internet casinos, poker and sports gaming is illegal within the United States, France, Germany, Sweden and other EU countries". I think in spain is also illegal...however, I see many spanish newspapers that promote sports gaming on their digital version of the newspapers...is not illegal for them?
#casinos #gaming #illegal #internet #poker #promotion #sports
  • Profile picture of the author tpw
    There are ways around it of course that make it acceptable.

    It is illegal for sure in most jurisdictions to promote the gambling site directly, but many enterprising casino marketers get around that limitation by promoting .org's that teach the rules of the games, etc.

    It is legal to promote information sites in most cases, and this is how most online casinos get around the limitations.
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  • Profile picture of the author Angelz
    Also promoting "Free Betting" is another way around it. "Play for fun" websites, with a link to the real betting website on every page.
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    • Profile picture of the author Renee-RewardsAffiliates
      Hi guys

      This is going to be my first post apart from my initial program intro.

      I've been an affiliate manager in the online gaming business for over 5 years now and there are many untruths about what is and is not illegal..

      There is a federal law in the US that was tacked onto the ports bill back in 2006 called the UIGEA - Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.
      What this law did was make it illegal for financial institutions to conduct illegal online gambling transactions, and makes it enforceable in the states which have a law stating that online gambling is illegal. Contrary to popular belief, this law did not make it illegal to gamble online in the US.

      At this point there are only 14 states in the US that specifically say it is illegal to gamble online. They are:

      Illinois
      Indiana
      Louisiana
      Utah
      Michigan
      Missouri
      Nevada
      Kentucky
      New Jersey
      New York
      Oregon
      South Dakota
      Washington
      Wisconsin

      There are no state or federal laws that say it is illegal to gamble online in any other state. This is the grey area. The DOJ want you to believe that it's illegal because they are not making taxes on it.. but there are no laws.

      To my best knowledge, Washington is the only state that forbids affiliate marketing of online gambling. It is a class C felony to do so.

      Re France, Arjel is the governing lawmaker in regards to online gambling there. It is currently illegal to accept players from France without a license and you are only able to obtain a license for poker and sports. So technically gambling at online casinos in France is illegal at this time.

      To the best of my knowledge, there are no laws in Germany against online gambling, in fact there was a recent win where Germany was going to start complying with the EU laws of open trade, so quite the opposite is the case.

      I'm also not aware of any laws in Sweden or Spain against online gambling.

      I'd be happy to answer any questions you guys have about this kind of thing. It is misconceptions such as these that make people shy away from our industry when there is actually no reason to.

      Cheers
      Renee
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      • Profile picture of the author Dan C. Rinnert
        Originally Posted by Renee-RewardsAffiliates View Post

        At this point there are only 14 states in the US that specifically say it is illegal to gamble online. They are:

        Illinois
        Indiana
        Louisiana
        Utah
        Michigan
        Missouri
        Nevada
        Kentucky
        New Jersey
        New York
        Oregon
        South Dakota
        Washington
        Wisconsin
        Of those, I know that Indiana, Michigan, Nevada and New Jersey all have casinos. So, the politicians aren't so much "protecting people" as they are protecting the state coffers.
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        • Profile picture of the author Renee-RewardsAffiliates
          Originally Posted by Dan C. Rinnert View Post

          Of those, I know that Indiana, Michigan, Nevada and New Jersey all have casinos. So, the politicians aren't so much "protecting people" as they are protecting the state coffers.

          That's pretty much the theory around the place, and of course everyone wants a piece of the action (hence France etc).

          New Jersey is trying to get their own regulated online casinos now, and will take players from outside the US, however within the US will only accept players from the state. They will also not allow players from within the state to gamble outside of NJ..

          So they are happy to take a piece of the action from outside the country, but not willing to trade fairly. These politicians just seem like a bunch of hipocrites.
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      • Profile picture of the author Danny McConnell
        Since I live in Wisconsin I have a quick ?. It's illegal for me to gamble online (like I would!), but ok for me to promote gambling through an affiliate program?
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        • Profile picture of the author Renee-RewardsAffiliates
          Originally Posted by danleigh57 View Post

          Since I live in Wisconsin I have a quick ?. It's illegal for me to gamble online (like I would!), but ok for me to promote gambling through an affiliate program?
          To my best knowledge there are no laws in your state that say it's illegal for you to advertise online gambling.
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      • Profile picture of the author Kevin_Hutto
        Originally Posted by Renee-RewardsAffiliates View Post

        Hi guys

        This is going to be my first post apart from my initial program intro.

        I've been an affiliate manager in the online gaming business for over 5 years now and there are many untruths about what is and is not illegal..

        There is a federal law in the US that was tacked onto the ports bill back in 2006 called the UIGEA - Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.
        What this law did was make it illegal for financial institutions to conduct illegal online gambling transactions, and makes it enforceable in the states which have a law stating that online gambling is illegal. Contrary to popular belief, this law did not make it illegal to gamble online in the US.

        At this point there are only 14 states in the US that specifically say it is illegal to gamble online. They are:

        Illinois
        Indiana
        Louisiana
        Utah
        Michigan
        Missouri
        Nevada
        Kentucky
        New Jersey
        New York
        Oregon
        South Dakota
        Washington
        Wisconsin

        There are no state or federal laws that say it is illegal to gamble online in any other state. This is the grey area. The DOJ want you to believe that it's illegal because they are not making taxes on it.. but there are no laws.

        To my best knowledge, Washington is the only state that forbids affiliate marketing of online gambling. It is a class C felony to do so.

        Re France, Arjel is the governing lawmaker in regards to online gambling there. It is currently illegal to accept players from France without a license and you are only able to obtain a license for poker and sports. So technically gambling at online casinos in France is illegal at this time.

        To the best of my knowledge, there are no laws in Germany against online gambling, in fact there was a recent win where Germany was going to start complying with the EU laws of open trade, so quite the opposite is the case.

        I'm also not aware of any laws in Sweden or Spain against online gambling.

        I'd be happy to answer any questions you guys have about this kind of thing. It is misconceptions such as these that make people shy away from our industry when there is actually no reason to.

        Cheers
        Renee
        Why is David Carruthers in jail then?

        Former Online Sportsbook Executive Headed to Jail - Gambling online guide | Free online gaming gambling | Betting casino gambling online sports
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        • Profile picture of the author Renee-RewardsAffiliates
          Sorry, what I should have said was that sportsbetting is illegal in the US - it's against the wire act. DC is in jail because he was found guilty of taking sportsbets.

          Hope that answers your question?
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          • Profile picture of the author Kevin_Hutto
            Originally Posted by Renee-RewardsAffiliates View Post

            Sorry, what I should have said was that sportsbetting is illegal in the US - it's against the wire act. DC is in jail because he was found guilty of taking sportsbets.

            Hope that answers your question?
            Its also illegal to bet on horseracing in most states in the US... Thats why you can only have an acct at sites like twinspires if you are in a state that allows gambling at the tracks...
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            • Profile picture of the author Renee-RewardsAffiliates
              Online horseracing, yes.

              Most states require you to only be able to put bets on at the land based sports betting facilities - including horseracing.
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  • Profile picture of the author webapex
    You have to wonder how many senators, congressmen & supreme court judges play poker.

    The U.S. law restricting online gambling is the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA)

    One admitted fan, Barney Frank, proposed some regulation that would delay UIGEA enforcement: H.R. 2266, Reasonable Prudence in Regulation Act, and more rational regulation and licensing: H.R. 2267, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act. last I heard they are still stalled.
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    • Profile picture of the author Renee-RewardsAffiliates
      Originally Posted by webapex View Post

      You have to wonder how many senators, congressmen & supreme court judges play poker.

      The U.S. law restricting online gambling is the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA)

      One admitted fan, Barney Frank, proposed some regulation that would delay UIGEA enforcement: H.R. 2266, Reasonable Prudence in Regulation Act, and more rational regulation and licensing: H.R. 2267, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act. last I heard they are still stalled.
      You'd be surprised. Every other week you hear of a coverup where a family member has been covering for their online habits.

      Barney Frank will hopefully prove to be a great asset to our industry.
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  • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
    Originally Posted by secrets2010 View Post

    I was reading on CJ: "Promotion of internet casinos, poker and sports gaming is illegal within the United States, France, Germany, Sweden and other EU countries".
    Is this "illegal" as in against the law, or "illegal" as in against CJ policy?

    Because it may very well be the latter. That's a valid use of the word, and probably gets much better compliance than saying it's a TOS violation.
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  • Profile picture of the author CesarGalano
    Here in Spain there's a great confusion about this subject. However, there isn't a concrete law that says it's illegal to promote gambling related sites.

    If this were true, I guess most of this sites wouldn't have an affiliate program. I have a friend that earns insane amounts of money by exploiting the Betfair affiliate program. He never had a problem...

    Cesar.
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  • Profile picture of the author WillR
    So for arguments sake, lets say you were an affiliate marketer and you posted some videos on Youtube showing people how to play poker. In those videos you then referred them to a poker site where they can get free credits in the hope they will then sign up and you get a referral fee.

    I've seen this done by people and I've also seen a WSO lately that mentions this very method. Is that not illegal? Does it depend which country the person who posted the videos is from?
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    • Profile picture of the author CesarGalano
      Originally Posted by WillR View Post

      So for arguments sake, lets say you were an affiliate marketer and you posted some videos on Youtube showing people how to play poker. In those videos you then referred them to a poker site where they can get free credits.

      I've seen this done by people and I've also seen a WSO lately that mentions this very method. Is that not illegal? Does it depends which country the person who posted the videos is from?

      I don't know in other countries, but in Spain you can do that without problems
      I Guess that it depends on the country.
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      • Profile picture of the author WillR
        Originally Posted by CesarGalano View Post

        I don't know in other countries, but in Spain you can do that without problems
        I Guess that it depends on the country.
        Well I don't think it would be a problem here in Australia as during a lot of our televised football games, they have adds for betting websites... go figure!

        I guess what I'm asking, is the law in regards to the country of the person promoting the website or the country of the person who signs up. If someone is promoting these sites on Youtube and they are allowed to do so in their country, they have no control over who might see that video (someone in another country) and sign up to the site.
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        • Profile picture of the author Renee-RewardsAffiliates
          Originally Posted by WillR View Post

          Well I don't think it would be a problem here in Australia as during a lot of our televised football games, they have adds for betting websites... go figure!

          I guess what I'm asking, is the law in regards to the country of the person promoting the website or the country of the person who signs up. If someone is promoting these sites on Youtube and they are allowed to do so in their country, they have no control over who might see that video (someone in another country) and sign up to the site.
          The law in Australia (I'm based in Sydney) is that it is illegal to take a bet from an Australian, but it is not illegal for an Australian to make a bet.

          Sportsbetting is the only legal form of online gambling in Australia and as you can guess why - because the country gets tax from it.

          Regarding the laws for each country, you'd be best to seek out a lawyer who specialises in internet gaming law. There are generally laws in each country regarding the promotion of sites that take bets, the actual site that takes the bets, and the person who places the bet.

          Just as a disclaimer, I'm not actually a lawyer so I can't give legal advice. Just letting you guys know what I know from my experience.
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    • Profile picture of the author Renee-RewardsAffiliates
      Originally Posted by WillR View Post

      So for arguments sake, lets say you were an affiliate marketer and you posted some videos on Youtube showing people how to play poker. In those videos you then referred them to a poker site where they can get free credits in the hope they will then sign up and you get a referral fee.

      I've seen this done by people and I've also seen a WSO lately that mentions this very method. Is that not illegal? Does it depend which country the person who posted the videos is from?
      Our company does this often, as do affiliates.

      I can think of one affiliate in particular who makes most of their money through youtube videos doing reviews on affiliate programs as well as individual online casinos, including those that accept players from countries where it is illegal to gamble online. The affiliate is based in a country where online gambling is illegal and youtube doesn't seem to have an issue with it.
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      • Profile picture of the author WillR
        Originally Posted by Renee-RewardsAffiliates View Post

        The affiliate is based in a country where online gambling is illegal and youtube doesn't seem to have an issue with it.
        When you say Youtube doesn't seem to have an issue with it, what you mean is he still has his Youtube account? There are also a lot of youtube videos out there using copyrighted material that have not been caught yet - it doesn't mean it is legal or the person who posted that video can not get into trouble.

        If you are breaking the law you are breaking the law. "Haven't been caught yet" is not really the answer I was looking for. It doesn't matter what Youtube thinks about it, what does the law have to say about it?
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        • Profile picture of the author Renee-RewardsAffiliates
          Originally Posted by WillR View Post

          When you say Youtube doesn't seem to have an issue with it, what you mean is he still has his Youtube account? There are also a lot of youtube videos out there using copyrighted material that have not been caught yet - it doesn't mean it is legal or the person who posted that video can not get into trouble.

          If you are breaking the law you are breaking the law. "Haven't been caught yet" is not really the answer I was looking for. It doesn't matter what Youtube thinks about it, what does the law have to say about it?
          You could be right, but considering how large this guy's operation is, I would assume that due to age restrictions on gambling etc that youtube has seen what he is doing. I've never heard of a single affiliate that had their account terminated or videos removed for advertising online gaming.

          I've seen this done by people and I've also seen a WSO lately that mentions this very method. Is that not illegal? Does it depend which country the person who posted the videos is from?
          To answer your question specifically, it would depend on if affiliate marketing in the online gambling industry was illegal in the country of the person who posted the video.

          As you'll know, if you have a .com domain, unless you use geotargeting it's going to be pretty hard to stop people from any country in the world seeing your website. Most affiliates put the onus on the player to check whether online gaming is legal in their country.
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          • Profile picture of the author WillR
            Originally Posted by Renee-RewardsAffiliates View Post

            You could be right, but considering how large this guy's operation is, I would assume that due to age restrictions on gambling etc that youtube has seen what he is doing. I've never heard of a single affiliate that had their account terminated or videos removed for advertising online gaming.



            To answer your question specifically, it would depend on if affiliate marketing in the online gambling industry was illegal in the country of the person who posted the video.

            As you'll know, if you have a .com domain, unless you use geotargeting it's going to be pretty hard to stop people from any country in the world seeing your website. Most affiliates put the onus on the player to check whether online gaming is legal in their country.
            I'm in Sydney also so that answered my question. I had no idea online gambling was illegal here - not sure how they would ever catch you. But you think it's fine for us to be promoting online gambling as an affiliate?
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            • Profile picture of the author Renee-RewardsAffiliates
              Originally Posted by WillR View Post

              I'm in Sydney also so that answered my question. I had no idea online gambling was illegal here - not sure how they would ever catch you. But you think it's fine for us to be promoting online gambling as an affiliate?
              Since we are based in Australia, we are not able to target Australians. This includes using a .com.au domain etc..

              I have a few affiliates who make big money though advertising casinos on .com.au domains, using flags and even "pokie" lingo, even though the law says you can't do it. Noone has ever been prosecuted for it.

              Edit: I have a feeling the reason they haven't been prosecuted for it is because the affiliates are not actually taking the bets. All the actual online casinos that advertise in Oz are located outside the country (eg. South Africa etc)

              I wouldn't advise to do it, although if you were advertising on a .com domain for example, you can't really be targeting Aussies because it's a "general" domain. I could most certainly put you in touch with one of the guys who has been around for 10 years in our industry promoting on .com.au domains if you'd like to get some insight? Just PM me your email address and I'll ask him to send you an email. He is based in Adelaide.
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              • Profile picture of the author Renee-RewardsAffiliates
                Just as a side thought, if you guys are really interested in getting into the online gambling industry, there is a conference being held next month in London where over 2500 people attend from the industry. They have talks running all day in regards to everything and anything online gaming. You're bound to learn a thing or too, and it's free for affiliates to attend.

                We will be exhibiting there too so you'd be able to come over and chat to me.

                If anyone is interested, just send me a PM and I'll send you the details. I'm not really sure if I'm allowed to post the details here?

                Cheers
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  • Profile picture of the author JustinDupre
    I guess we just have to be extra careful when running an offer or campaign on these gambling niches.. I'm not too familiar with it but I know for sure US is very strict and sensitive on this subject.
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  • Profile picture of the author pethanks
    I think that is the best thing to do - to prohibit the promotions of those things.
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    I had a site that promoted the Casino signup bonuses and it made a good amount of money. The problem was, the company could not send me a check due to the US laws and offered me just an account where I could piss the money away on one of their casinos. I pissed the money away and shut the site down since it was not going to be profitable for me to promote them.
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    • Profile picture of the author secrets2010
      Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

      I had a site that promoted the Casino signup bonuses and it made a good amount of money. The problem was, the company could not send me a check due to the US laws and offered me just an account where I could piss the money away on one of their casinos. I pissed the money away and shut the site down since it was not going to be profitable for me to promote them.

      Why you didnt sell the website?
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      • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
        Banned
        Originally Posted by secrets2010 View Post

        Why you didnt sell the website?
        Probably should have ... but just let it expire. Done with gaming industry in US and didn't really want to promote a gambling site sale.
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    • Profile picture of the author Renee-RewardsAffiliates
      Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

      I had a site that promoted the Casino signup bonuses and it made a good amount of money. The problem was, the company could not send me a check due to the US laws and offered me just an account where I could piss the money away on one of their casinos. I pissed the money away and shut the site down since it was not going to be profitable for me to promote them.
      That's pretty sad. There are a handful of ways to pay US affiliates. Not sure why they wouldn't accommodate for you.

      I'd be interested to know which company it was?
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  • Profile picture of the author Steve Wells
    There are thousands of people promoting online poker sites through affiliate programs with Fulltilt Poker, Poker Stars, you name it and there are lots of people promoting poker through Rakeback sites. I'm talking about US based people.....

    They get paid also.
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  • Profile picture of the author joshef
    If betting is illegal in any states so promotion of betting is also illegal. But there are many states where betting is legal so the casinos in these areas has online betting sites for promotion of their casino business.
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