Wagers Continue on Superbowl in U.S.A.

Published: Saturday, January 31, 2009 Online-Casinos.com

Joseph Kelly, a business law professor at State University of New York College at Buffalo assures the online gambling public, that gambling-related companies listed on the London stock exchange backed off from taking U.S. bets were replaced by less reliable operators. Kelly helped develop regulations for Internet gambling used by the government of Antigua, and he said consumers would be better off dealing with companies based there, in England or other well-regulated countries.

Regardless of federal law, someone can wager on sports today just as easily as before the American Government tried to stop this activity.

Sports betting, poker and casino-style games have been happening on the Internet since 1995, with an estimated 2,000 or more sites taking wagers at the time Congress passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in 2006. People connected to the gambling and financial industries say plenty of opportunity remains for any American who wants to wager by computer, as anyone searching the Internet can attest.

Offshore, online "sports books" provide the ability to bet on the Steelers or Cardinals. Wagers can also be placed on which team will win the coin toss, what player will score the first touchdown. Wagers can be placed on all kinds of things during the game.

"Given the freedom of the Internet, though there have been attempts to limit or prohibit the activity, their efforts frankly are ineffective," said Michael Waxman, spokesman for the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative. The group represents U.K. based financial companies that would prefer to see online gambling legalized.

Online operators established in the Caribbean and elsewhere, where they say the U.S. ban is not applicable to them.They set up accounts for customers who send checks, wire their cash payments or use payment-processing services that are also based outside the United States.

It is apparent that any future Steelers Super Bowl, will keep drawing wagers in some form or another. Mr.Kenneally of the bankers association pointed out, "There's still bookies around, and bookmaking's been illegal for centuries."