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Lara Wilson, expert contributor at Casino.ca, outlines how the United States has set a high
standard for the global online casino sector to take lessons from.
The U.S. has had an undeniably significant impact on the online casino industry. Its markets have been, and continue to be,
trendsetters that drive investment, innovation and reform. Without the influence of the U.S.,
the global iGaming market would be a very different place today.
The nation is often viewed as a role model in the online casino industry, not because it has a single nationwide market,
but because it has developed one of the world’s most sophisticated regulatory systems for online gambling. States such as New Jersey
, Pennsylvania and Michigan have demonstrated that online casinos can be regulated safely while generating substantial
tax revenue and offering robust consumer protections.
Online casinos first came on the scene in the late 1990s, and since then, Americans have enjoyed using them. For a long time,
there was no clear federal framework specifically authorizing online casinos, and players were forced to use offshore gambling
websites. Federal laws such as the Wire Act of 1961 and then the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 muddied the waters further.
While the UIGEA did not make online gambling in itself illegal for players, it did prohibit banks and payment
processors from handling transactions connected to unlawful internet gambling. This slowed the market considerably,
nly to Sports Betting, not to online casino games or poker. This clarity gave states the confidence they needed to
regulate intrastate online gambling. New Jersey was the frontrunner, becoming the first major U.S. jurisdiction in
November 2013, when it launched its online casino market.
The repeal of PASPA in 2018 further accelerated the spread of online casino regulation. The ruling ended the federal ban
on Sports Betting, allowing individual states to legalize, regulate and tax Sports Betting. It reinforced the principle that states
could decide their own gambling laws, encouraging further expansion of regulated iGaming markets.
Meanwhile, in Canada, provincial online casinos had been legal since provinces gained gambling authority in 1985 and began
launching government-run online platforms in the 2000s. The rapid expansion of regulated iGaming in the U.S. after 2018
strongly influenced Canada’s 2021 Sports Betting reform and Ontario’s decision to launch an open online casino market in 2022.
The experts at Casino.ca have reviewed many of the 84 sites that now make up Ontario’s acclaimed market.
Back in the US, states including Pennsylvania, Michigan, Connecticut, West Virginia, Rhode Island and Delaware moved to
authorize real-money online casino gaming. There is still no federal license or nationwide law making online casinos legal
everywhere, so it remains up to each state to decide whether to allow them and how they are regulated.
Maine will soon become the eighth state to legalize online casinos, and is expected to launch its market within the next year.
Its approach to regulation is proving particularly interesting, as it is taking a markedly different approach from other states.
The new market will see four online casinos launch, each tethered to one of the state’s four recognized tribes. These have
been given exclusive rights to partner with a single third-party operator.
Prior to this, tribes had been left out of U.S. online casino markets, despite their established ties to land-based casinos.
The decision in Maine has not come without controversy, though. A federal lawsuit has been filed by Churchill Downs,
which operates a local land-based casino, over the tribal-exclusivity model. The case has not yet been resolved,
and could have ramifications for the future structure of the market.
Whether Maine’s attempt to reconcile online gambling revenues with local tribes will prove successful remains
to be seen, but there’s no doubt that other states will be watching on with interest. If, against all odds, the Pine Tree State
manages to pull off this gambit, it could pave the way for a new regulatory model, further boosting online casino adoption across the U.S.
Lara Wilson, expert contributor at Casino.ca, outlines how the United States has set a high
standard for the global online casino sector to take lessons from.
The U.S. has had an undeniably significant impact on the online casino industry. Its markets have been, and continue to be,
trendsetters that drive investment, innovation and reform. Without the influence of the U.S.,
the global iGaming market would be a very different place today.
The nation is often viewed as a role model in the online casino industry, not because it has a single nationwide market,
but because it has developed one of the world’s most sophisticated regulatory systems for online gambling. States such as New Jersey
, Pennsylvania and Michigan have demonstrated that online casinos can be regulated safely while generating substantial
tax revenue and offering robust consumer protections.
Online casinos first came on the scene in the late 1990s, and since then, Americans have enjoyed using them. For a long time,
there was no clear federal framework specifically authorizing online casinos, and players were forced to use offshore gambling
websites. Federal laws such as the Wire Act of 1961 and then the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 muddied the waters further.
While the UIGEA did not make online gambling in itself illegal for players, it did prohibit banks and payment
processors from handling transactions connected to unlawful internet gambling. This slowed the market considerably,
nly to Sports Betting, not to online casino games or poker. This clarity gave states the confidence they needed to
regulate intrastate online gambling. New Jersey was the frontrunner, becoming the first major U.S. jurisdiction in
November 2013, when it launched its online casino market.
The repeal of PASPA in 2018 further accelerated the spread of online casino regulation. The ruling ended the federal ban
on Sports Betting, allowing individual states to legalize, regulate and tax Sports Betting. It reinforced the principle that states
could decide their own gambling laws, encouraging further expansion of regulated iGaming markets.
Meanwhile, in Canada, provincial online casinos had been legal since provinces gained gambling authority in 1985 and began
launching government-run online platforms in the 2000s. The rapid expansion of regulated iGaming in the U.S. after 2018
strongly influenced Canada’s 2021 Sports Betting reform and Ontario’s decision to launch an open online casino market in 2022.
The experts at Casino.ca have reviewed many of the 84 sites that now make up Ontario’s acclaimed market.
Back in the US, states including Pennsylvania, Michigan, Connecticut, West Virginia, Rhode Island and Delaware moved to
authorize real-money online casino gaming. There is still no federal license or nationwide law making online casinos legal
everywhere, so it remains up to each state to decide whether to allow them and how they are regulated.
Maine will soon become the eighth state to legalize online casinos, and is expected to launch its market within the next year.
Its approach to regulation is proving particularly interesting, as it is taking a markedly different approach from other states.
The new market will see four online casinos launch, each tethered to one of the state’s four recognized tribes. These have
been given exclusive rights to partner with a single third-party operator.
Prior to this, tribes had been left out of U.S. online casino markets, despite their established ties to land-based casinos.
The decision in Maine has not come without controversy, though. A federal lawsuit has been filed by Churchill Downs,
which operates a local land-based casino, over the tribal-exclusivity model. The case has not yet been resolved,
and could have ramifications for the future structure of the market.
Whether Maine’s attempt to reconcile online gambling revenues with local tribes will prove successful remains
to be seen, but there’s no doubt that other states will be watching on with interest. If, against all odds, the Pine Tree State
manages to pull off this gambit, it could pave the way for a new regulatory model, further boosting online casino adoption across the U.S.
