Playing with Online Casinos

 While the decision remains a personal one, it is easy to overstate what happened with BOS and what it means for the industry as a whole.

The actions taken against the industry always have been and likely always will be directed purely at the bet takers.  People who place the bets are rarely, if ever, subject to consequences from placing bets.  For both political and practical reasons this is unlikely to change.  Making such a change would invite the ire of the public for people who depend upon them for votes to keep them in office. 

Bettors do, however, have to consider the consequences of facing the IRS.  The IRS doesn't care if your betting is legal or illegal, they want you to report your winnings and losses properly so they can get their share.  You don't even have to win to come out behind under tax law in some cases.  Due to the nature of the deductions allowed for losses, if you would ordinarily file for the standard deduction, just being a gambler who loses or breaks even could cost you thousands of dollars in taxes. 

Vegas Casino Online brings the best progressive online casino games to your home,office or your preferred place to be.

One misconception people have is that filing with the IRS is a no-no because it could alert authorities you have committed illegal acts.  In general this is completely false.  Tax filings are for the purposes of your business with the IRS.  They aren't distributed or available for law enforcement agencies to go leafing through trying to find outlaws. 

For one thing, the Constitution protects you from self-incrimination.  No court will not convict you of a crime merely because you mentioned you gambled on a tax document.  Another consideration is that all you must do is claim you gambled.  There is plenty of legal gambling available, there is no supposition it must have been done illegally.  If the authorities want to convict you of a crime they have to do their own investigation and generate their own evidence of your wrongdoing. 

One thing to consider is state law oversees the legality of gambling itself.  Federal laws do not cover gambling or gamblers.  Federal law is not allowed to legalize or ban gambling by bettors themselves as this is left to states to decide. 

Therefore if you really wonder if what you are doing is illegal, pay no attention to the Wire Act or any of the other legislation pending in Congress as we speak.  If you read them they all refer to those in the “business of gambling”.  While professional bettors fret this might cover them, most legal experts have stated a court is unlikely to make this interpretation. 

These laws do potentially affect bettors should operations get shut down as BOS did, but not because of legal issues.  If you truly want to be within the law, look up your state's laws on gambling. I suspect those who might avoid betting online for legality reasons are high profile individuals for whom any criminal conviction could be damaging.  

My advice for most bettors is to worry little about online gambling activities as long as you properly reporting it on your tax forms.  One person in history has been convicted of gambling online and his punishment was a fine of $500.  It's doubtful any action by law enforcement with such minimal consequence will deter the millions who bet online, nor do recent events portend greater actions being made to prosecute online gamblers.

  © Copyright 2006 Online Casino Crawler This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.