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29 sats \ 5 replies \ @0xbitcoiner OP 10 Mar \ parent \ on: Online Sports Betting Legality by State Stacker_Sports
I'm wondering, in states where gambling is illegal, is it only online, or is all gambling forbidden?
That's a great question and the answer is super weird.
For the most part, it means all gambling is forbidden, but there are weird exceptions. For instance, some states allow games like Bingo where gambling is otherwise illegal, sometimes gambling is only legal for charity fundraisers, many states have enormous lotteries run by private companies that pay a large share of the revenue to the state.
In general, gambling is legal on Indian Reservations (provided the tribe has approved it), so there are big casinos out in the middle of nowhere that service residents of states where gambling is illegal.
There are also a bunch of states along the Mississippi River system that have exemptions for "river boat casinos". The laws have been so tweaked over the years though, that these no longer have to be boats and they don't have to be on a river.
Here's an excerpt from Brave's search AI
US Riverboat Casinos Riverboat casinos in the United States are primarily found along the Mississippi River and its tributaries, as well as along the Gulf Coast. These casinos were initially required to be located on ships that could sail away from the dock, but over time, regulations have changed, allowing many to remain dockside or even be built on land near navigable waterways.
And here's a picture of a "river boat casino" that my friend told me about:
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Definitely super weird. Custom-made laws, huh? I'm familiar with the casino boats, thanks to Ozark! ahahah.
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You always have to remember that the US is highly federalized, so most laws vary by state, if not locality.
Then, you have the legal oddity that is how Native Americans are treated.
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Yep! I forget that a lot. Something I still don't quite get, it's not about betting but about smoking weed. A friend of mine got banned from entering the US for two years because he admitted to smoking weed in a state where it's legal. They applied federal law in his case, and it was at the airport. Isn't that weird?
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Adding in the overreach of the national government definitely adds another level of complexity.
You sort of have to think of "legal"/"illegal" as being who will try to prosecute you for stuff. When stuff's "legal" in a state, it means the state police and courts won't prosecute you over it.
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