What is an offshore casino?
It’s really just any casino that operates outside the borders of the United States. This shouldn’t be confused with the terminology of international casinos which are usually physical brick and mortar casinos in foreign nations. Rather, a casino that is offshore is usually a digital operation accessible through technology but is still operated anywhere in the world other than inside American territory.
Offshore casinos have exploded in popularity due to legal complications with domestic online gambling. The United States Department of Justice stated a 2018 opinion regarding the Federal Wire Act that makes the legality of online gambling very dubious or complicated.
Offshore gambling online is very legal, however, so long as the casinos operate in locales where online betting is fully permitted. As they are outside of American jurisdiction, federal laws do not apply.
The best offshore casinos are available to citizens of 49 states. Residents of the District of Columbia and the state of Connecticut are restricted by local and state laws from participating in online gambling. This includes casinos based outside of the United States.
An offshore casino can fall outside the purview of the Federal Wire Act. This law was originally intended to prevent organized mobs from controlling gambling and the gaming industry, in particular sports betting.
This anti-racketeering act started off focusing on wired technology, such as telephones, where sporting event results might be reported ahead of the normal press. However, because it focused on communications technology, it inevitably wound up applying to online gambling as well.
Online gambling was also made difficult by the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act. That act prohibited financial transactions from going back and forth between domestic banks and gambling operators. As the depositing of gambling funds and withdrawal of winnings became harder to do for domestic gambling sites, offshore casinos saw demand for their services increase.
Finding casinos offshore is simple enough to do, but identifying the best offshore casinos does take some work. A great offshore gambling option will have earned a good reputation.
They will have an authentic gaming license for the country they operate in and openly provide authentic audit certification as well as proof of fair play. Their customer service will be impeccable, and their website will have top-notch security, for obvious reasons.