Rule One of Being a Bookmaker: Know the Laws in Your Area
Legal Implications of Bookmaking – If you’re thinking of getting into offering wagering on sporting events, then the odds are pretty good, in our eyes, that you’ve made some bets in the past. If you’re smart, then, before you’ve done so, you’ve done your research. You didn’t just throw money around wildly, you looked into things. You looked up information about a team, a player, a league, the game, and so forth – before you ever made any wagers. The same should be done when it comes to getting into this business. This article will cover the implications of entering this world, the factors you should keep in mind, and more.
The good news is that sports gambling, in one form or another, is legal in more of the United States than ever before. Beyond that, it’s absolutely legal in the United Kingdom. That said, you don’t want to be guilty of a misdemeanor (or even a felony) because you decided to try to get into a new field. Follow the rules, depending on which jurisdiction/jurisdictions you’re in, and you should be all right.
Legal Implications of Bookmaking: A Good Rule of Thumb for Bookmakers in Understanding the Law
Simple: put as much research into the laws in your area as you should into betting on a sport. So, you understand that you want to know everything there is to know about football, about basketball, before setting odds, making it possible to gamble, and the like. The same is true when it comes to the legality of your online betting operation. The more you know about the regulations in your area, the better equipped you will to be to not run afoul of law enforcement, regardless of your particular circumstances. You’ve heard the phrase “knowledge is half the battle.” That’s certainly true when it comes to offering a site for online betting.
Better still, just like before any sporting event, you want to do your research ahead of time. You don’t want to be an example that people point to if someone that was blinded by the possibility of profit, someone that immediately lept with two feet into offering online horse racing bets or something only to find themselves a defendant because it was illegal to do so in their area. This business can be very lucrative – however, it’s not worth committing a crime over. The worst are those who are nabbed by the police but didn’t realize that they had done anything wrong/illegal whatsoever.
The penalties for this can be steep, you don’t want to have to deal with even the slightest possibility of a conviction (much less jail time) so being aware of what the laws are about sportsbooks on your state is important. Moreover, you want to know what the laws are right now – and not after some future elections. Yes, you can find a betting option in many different kinds of market that you couldn’t in the past. But, you can’t count on this country to bail you out with voting, so to speak. The better you know the laws in your area the more likely that you’ll be a winner (and not a loser) when it really counts.
Online Sports Betting: Always Better Than Going With an In-Person Bookie
We understand that, even with the rise of the online bet site, there are still those individuals who prefer to deal with an in-person bookie. We’re here to tell you that this is not a good idea, regardless of your situation. For starters, most of these books (and the bookies who run them) are going to be illegal. The odds are extremely long that they didn’t get (or are ineligible for) the kind of license that organizations, casinos, and the like need to operate legally in this space. They don’t just give these out to anyone.
As a result of this, they don’t really answer to anyone. Thus, there’s nothing stopping them, no cops, no commission, no government, or so forth from just up and taking your money. That could happen at any time and you will never see a percentage of it or, most likely, any of it whatsoever. With online sites, you’ll get your payouts when you should. No one can just abscond with your winnings to other countries or anything like that. It’s one more way that you give yourself the best chance to be successful.
The Only Thing Worse Than Bookies Offline: Someone Who’s Online
See, there are some local bookies who say that their activities are legal because they have a website. This can actually be worse, making it more likely that you the bettor will incur even more significant losses through their site. When these sites are just run by an individual and not a company (particularly one that did their due dilligence in putting together their site, paying the taxes, offering customer service, and the like) then the site could be shut down at any time .
If that happens, and you’re one of the clients, you’re without recourse. You were just one of many players (possibly of thousands) on an illegal site. Should that happen to you, then you’ll just lose everything. The internet can be unforgiving in this regard. When the feds shut down a site like this, they don’t make exceptions for someone who just “thought doing this was fine.” No. Your best bet, if you’re someone looking to bet online, is to go with a site that you know is legal in your area. By that same token, if you’re looking to get involve with this profession, then you want to know what are and are not crimes before getting started with the job.
Ways That An Online Sportsbook Gives You More Chances to Be a Winner
If you’re going to “step into the arena,” as it were, if you’re going to make it possible for others to bet on games through your site, then you want to give them the best possible experience. As such, make sure that the site you’re going with provides the most possible contests. For instance, that means that with just one look, they can see all the examples of different games to bet on, different events, and so forth. Whether someone is looking to bet on a boxing match between two fighters who speak French or the biggest MLB game of the year in New York (or anything in between) they have a variety of options to choose from.
Beyond that, you’re also going to want a site that offers options in multiple languages, too. Yes, the most successful sites are those that offer sports from all around the world. Sure, the majority of your customers will speak the English language, but, with a properly run, legal site, you don’t have to know the words that your bettors might be speaking to be able to receive money from them.
Whether it’s Spanish, French, German, or anything else, if someone is content to bet on a race, game, or more through your site, you want to be able to give them the best possibility to do so. The right kind of site, from the right organization, gives you the best chance to make some real cash moving forward.
Online Bookmaking: The Best Option for Bettors and Professionals Alike
Something that many don’t realize about a place like an online betting site, that they don’t get a real sense for: a range of options. If you’re going to bet with a local bookie, the odds are good that, in part, there might be only one event (or so) to place a wager on. Maybe they give you multiple options in some cases, but for the most part, you’re going to be able to make one type of bet or another through a bookie like this. Perhaps its on the point spread, maybe it’s on some other action, but for the most part, you can make an act – not go through betting activities.
Online sites, like this one or a number of others, offer great value in providing multiple options. Maybe you want to bet on horse races far away, or a horse race down the street. Perhaps you want to play poker online but fear going through a site that might just take your money. Instead, you need to have a site that either erases doubt in the player’s head or makes it so that they never have any doubt in the first place. Yes, that’s a lot to ask of a site, but before you decide to sign up and do some work on it, make sure that all of the sections are clear, easily laid out, and so forth. That way, you give yourself the best chance at successful navigation towards real profits.
Gaming Websites and the Protections They Offer
When you bet with an online site, then there are really only two outcomes. You win or you lose. You make money or you don’t. However, if you bet with someone who isn’t online, then any outcome is essentially possible. Sure, you could win (or lose) the amount that’s appropriate to your bet, etc. But, unfortunately, many offline bookies (and their sites, should they have them) could be tied to people who, let’s generously say aren’t exactly friends. As such, they could have connections to criminals and worse. All of that can mean that you may not get the money that you deserve or could have to deal with other elements that you do not want to deal with (to put it very lightly).
This is why it makes so much sense to, if you’re a bookie (or someone who’s just putting down a bet) to work with a site that was designed by a corporation (and then potentially run by you/another bookie). This is the best course of action for many reasons, not the least of which, were we to list them, would include accountability. They have text describing what they do and don’t do, someone can hold them to account. They have pages, articles, terms of use, real history, perhaps they’re on Wikipedia (which can go even further to show their roots) and so forth. Maybe there’s a real community of people who use the site, people that you could get a name of and meet in real life.
We don’t mean to imply that every offline bookmaker is somehow tied up with the Italian Mafia, some kind of mob boss looking to break your legs (with interest) if you don’t pay off your bets. Yes, there can be a criminal element, which can lead to questions, etc. But, when you go with a reputable online site, it’s more likely to leave you in compliance with the law as well as provide you with a better chance of an honest bet.
Gambling Laws of the States as of This Writing
Legal Implications of Bookmaking – The good news is that, as of this writing, more states than ever have allowed legal sports gambling. The bad news is that plenty of them haven’t done it yet, too. Some are still just considering it. Obviously, before getting too much into this industry, before investing more of your time and money into this, you want to be sure that what you’re doing is legal, that you’ve made the right decision.
So, as of this writing, you can legally bet online in Arizona, Illinois, Colorado, Nevada, Michigan, Rhode Island, West (by God) Virginia, Iowa, Oregon, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Indiana and Delaware.
Now, you may have read that and thought “wait a minute, I think there’s legal sports betting in my state.” Right. It might be what’s called “land based.” Should that be the case, it’s in all of the states that we’ve mentioned above in the previous section there as well as Maryland, Montana, Washington (state), Washington DC, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Mississippi, and Connecticut.
Some states are currently considering expanding into the legalization of sports betting. These include states like Missouri, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Maine, Kansas, Florida, Alabama, and, the big one, California. Hopefully, by the time you’ve read this, it’s out of date, and all of them have legalized sports betting.
To look at those listings of states, you’ll note that they really don’t have much in common. Those are states all across the country, with many different climates, political climates, sports teams, and more. So, before you decide to bet with one site or another, don’t just ask family members or something, know for certain.
So, before you get started, be smart. Do your due diligence. Understand the laws in your area and make the right choice. Good luck to you!
