Sport Betting Rules
When discussing legal online sports betting, the majority of America's government has a very regressive, prohibition-style attitude towards it, buying into a negative perspective concerning the morality of gambling entertainment. This is what has led to a variety of state gambling laws in the past.
Betting on a Sports Bet Montana Kiosk. Find your sport and game. Choose a bet type (single, parlay, futures, in-game, etc.) and your selection will be added to your bet slip. Enter the amount you want to wager or each selection made. Press “Place Bet”. Betting on our Sports Bet. General 888sports Sport Betting Rules. Introduction To Sports Betting Rules and Definitions; Acceptance, Cancellation or Voidance of Your Bet; Our Cash Out Feature; Bet Types; Settlement of Results; Additional Rules; Settlement on Certain Offers; Rule 4 (Non Horse Racing and Non Greyhounds) Disputes; Disclaimers; Betting. BASKETBALL RULES For NCAA, WNBA and European matches, games must go at least 35 minutes for wagers to have action. For NBA matches, games must go at least 43 minutes. Winners are determined by the final score of the game including overtime, unless otherwise specified.
There are no US federal laws that make it a crime for Americans to place bets at offshore sportsbooks that are operating legally within the industry. There are two states that legally prohibit all online gambling, domestic or offshore, leaving residents in Connecticut and Washington without legally sanctioned online betting options, though they have yet to start enforcing those restrictions.
For the most part, state lawmakers are becoming more progressive concerning betting entertainment and recognize the value that this type of revenue stream can bring to a state. Individual states are actively analyzing what the legalization of domestic sports gambling can provide them with in terms of opportunities, tourism, and tax revenue, and many have already taken action one way or the other through new legislation.
Iowa, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and West Virginia currently permit state-regulated online sports gambling, with nearly two dozen additional states having launched land-based sportsbooks. Individual territories began embracing sports betting the moment that PASPA was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in the infamous NJ case, with multiple states having had their legislation ready and waiting should the ruling go in the Garden State's favor.
Below we'll take a look at the relevant US federal gambling laws, and explain how state gambling laws intersect with federal laws to impact online and brick and mortar sportsbook gambling, as well as what these laws have to say about the legal status of offshore sports betting entertainment.
The Federal Laws on the Books
The sections below will detail and explain how each major federal law affects domestic gambling opportunities in the US.
The Federal Wire Act
Passed back in 1961, the Federal Wire Act was made law in an effort to curtail the illegal gambling activities taking place over the phone by organized crime syndicates. It prohibited the transmission of wagers or betting information from being carried across state lines via telegraph or telephone. The Federal Wire Act targeted these illegal bookie operations as a means to curb the mafia from manipulating games and making a profit through these tactics.
This law was strictly focused on interstate gambling, and only targeted those accepting bets and not the individuals placing the bets. The goal was to crack down on illegal gambling services, not prosecute bettors. Between the DOJ Legal Opinion of 2011 and the repeal of PASPA, today's application of the Wire Act prohibits any gambling business from accepting bets across state lines or from foreign sources.
With the changes still being implemented, we are not sure yet how this will affect those states that had entered into interstate gambling pacts with one another, sharing player pools for their online gambling initiatives. Once that aspect of the legal situation becomes more clear we will update that information here.
The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act
Also known as the Bradley Act, or just PASPA, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act was a sweeping federal regulation that passed in 1992, with the supposed intent of protecting the integrity of sports by making sports betting illegal.
At the time the bill was passed, there were sports lotteries in Delaware, Montana, and Oregon, as well as licensed and regulated sports betting in Nevada, so those four states were exempt.
The law effectively prevented the expansion of the sports betting market throughout the United States in what many categorized as a discriminatory law that favored a few states while restricting others.
New Jersey took on the mission of challenging the law and after several years of court battles, was given a favorable outcome by the highest court in the land as SCOTUS ruled PASPA as unconstitutional, nullifying the law.
As of May 14, 2018, each individual state now has the authority to dictate sports betting laws within their borders. They can now choose to authorize or prohibit sports betting at their pleasure. Following PASPA's repeal, we have seen multiple states move forward with legislation that legalizes sports gambling at the state level.
The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act
This is the big one that shook the gambling industry to its core. Online gambling really started to explode during the early 2000's, especially in the realm of online poker. In 2006, then-President Bush signed into law the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, known all over as the UIGEA. In a nutshell, the UIGEA placed very stringent regulatory restrictions concerning how gambling-related transactions could be processed.
The most reputable sites started a countdown and allowed Americans to withdraw and closeout their accounts. Many trusted gambling sites left the US market at this time. After the dust settled, and the financial and gambling industries learned how to comply with the regulatory oversight provided by the UIGEA, many of these reputable gambling sites have returned to provide services to US sports bettors.
The UIGEA did end up making the online gambling market safer for both the bettors and the operators by imposing a more reliable and stricter regulatory structure for how gambling-related transactions are processed. Gambling sites invested in top tier payment processors while all parties implemented higher-level security protocols to ensure the validity and safety of those transactions that are processed.
While US online gambling funding options are still somewhat limited in some regards, things have stabilized. The emergence of cryptocurrencies have filled the void left by the elimination of US-friendly e-wallets and failed credit card transactions. The UIGEA does not make it illegal for Americans to gamble online. The law simply regulates how online gambling transactions are processed.
The 2011 Department of Justice's Interpretation of Federal Laws
With the growth of online commerce, several states became interested in offering lottery game services online. This raised questions concerning the application of the Federal Wire Act, driving the DOJ to issue a clarification of the law's reach.
The Department of Justice ruled, and accurately so, that the federal government had no right to tell states that they could not sanction online gambling and therefore established that each US state has the authority to determine their own fate concerning online gambling with the exception of sports betting.
The repeal of PASPA took care of freeing sports gambling as the last remaining federally prohibited form of state-regulated online gambling. As of now, all 50 states have the legal ability to legalize and offer online gambling such as casinos, poker, bingo, and sports wagering. To date, only a handful of states have taken advantage of legal domestic online gambling. However, many states have pending bills to allow various forms of sports betting.
The 2019 DOJ Interpretation of Federal Gambling Laws
Following the repeal of PASPA in 2018, the reach of the Federal Wire Act has again come into question. In a new interpretation, which many believe was coerced by anti-online gambling activist Sheldon Adelson, the Department of Justice has indicated that the Wire Act prohibits not only interstate wagers but also the sharing of information across state lines.
This determination will certainly harm those states that have entered into interstate gambling compacts to share player pools and resources with other states. The opinion is being formally challenged through a lawsuit headed up by New Hampshire. As the situation unfolds, we will provide updates here.
What You Need to Know Going Forward
All of this legal information is good knowledge to have under your belt, no doubt about it. However, all you really need to know going forward is that there are no federal laws making gambling illegal in the United States either online or offline, and this includes domestic and offshore sports betting. States now determine the legal status of all gambling entertainment within their borders. As a sports betting resource guide, we want to make this point clear.
For those of you interested in betting on sport but who live in a state that has not authorized state-regulated sportsbooks, you'll have to either travel to a state with legalized sports betting or use a legitimate offshore sportsbook such as the ones you find listed on this site. You can check out our list of states that allow sports betting here or follow our list of recommended online sportsbooks.
US Gambling Laws
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In something you don’t see at the top levels of European soccer anymore, Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge has been charged with allegedly breaching the Football Association’s betting rules.
Specifically, Sturridge is accused of breaking Rule E8(1)(a)(ii) and Rule E8(1)(b) during January 2018.
He has until Tuesday, Nov. 20 to respond. Sturridge has stated “categorically that he has never gambled on football,” said a Liverpool spokesperson.
Sports Betting Rules At The Horseshoe Casino
Soooo … what does that mean?
Just follow this and then I’ll speculate. Here are the FA betting rules Sturridge is accused of violating:
- Rule E8(1)(a) – a participant shall not bet, either directly or indirectly, or instruct, permit, cause or enable any person to bet on – (i) the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of, or occurrence in or in connection with, a football match or competition; or (ii) any other matter concerning or related to football anywhere in the world, including, for example and without limitation, the transfer of players, employment of managers, team selection or disciplinary matters.
- Rule E8(1)(b) – where a participant provides to any other person any information relating to football which the participant has obtained by virtue of his or her position within the game and which is not publicly available at that time, the participant shall be in breach of this Rule where any of that information is used by that other person for, or in relation to, betting.
Sturridge was accused of this violation in January 2018.
In January 2018, Sturridge completed a loan to West Brom Albion. Rule E8(1)(a) states that, “a participant shall not bet, either directly or indirectly…or enable any person to bet on…the transfer of players…” Rule E8(1)(b) states that, “where a participant provides to any other person any information relating to football which the participant has obtained by virtue of his or her position within the game…”
It’s reasonable given the timeframe to assume that Sturridge either intentionally or carelessly provided information of his transfer to someone who placed and won a large wager. We here at TheLines are not the betting type of people, but it’s like -350 that’s what happened.
Harif Sport Betting Rules
Governing athletes in the U.S.
Europe has a significantly more mature sports betting market than the U.S. Players at the top levels know the rules.
So what exactly are sports betting rules for U.S. pro athletes?
Major League Baseball
We all know that Pete Rose earned himself a lifetime ban. In general, this is pretty straightforward. Section D of Major League Baseball Rule 21 states:
- Any player, umpire, or Club or League official or employee, who shall bet any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has no duty to perform, shall be declared ineligible for one year.
- Any player, umpire, or Club or League official or employee, who shall bet any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has a duty to perform, shall be declared permanently ineligible.
National Football League
The NFL has an interesting and somewhat confusing view of gambling in general. They’ve opposed gambling and were behind lobbying efforts around the UIGEA. Yet they provide injury reports with a wink-wink-nod-nod to how that impacts gamblers, and their owners had no issue investing in daily fantasy sports sites. As far as “NFL personnel” go, however, this is more clearly defined:
League policy strictly prohibits NFL Personnel from participating in or facilitating any form of illegal gambling. In addition, NFL Personnel are prohibited from engaging in any of the following gambling-related activities, regardless of whether such activities are legal:
- Accepting a bribe or agreeing to throw or fix a game or illegally influence its outcome, statistics or score;
- Failing promptly to report any bribe offer or any attempt to throw or fix a game or to illegally influence its outcome, statistics or score;
- Betting on any NFL game or practice, or any other professional (e.g., NBA, MLB, NHL,PGA, USTA), college (e.g., NCAA basketball), or Olympic sport. including but not limited to wagers related to game outcome, statistics, score, or performance of any individual participant
- Sharing confidential information regarding any game or any participating individual’s Status for or performance in any game without authorization or for the purpose of enabling or facilitating gambling;
- Participating in or condoning any form of gambling while in any Club or League setting including, without limitation, locker rooms, practice or office facilities, or while traveling on Club or League business; or
- Entering into, utilizing or otherwise visiting a “sports book ” at any time during the NFL playing season.
National Basketball Association
Rumors have swirled for years regarding why Michael Jordan really left the NBA the first time. And we all know about Tim Donaghy. The NBA Constitution states:
Any person who, directly or indirectly, wagers money or anything of value on the outcome of any game played by a Team in the league operated by the Association shall, on being charged with such wagering, be given an opportunity to answer such charges after due notice, and the decision of the Commissioner shall be final, binding, conclusive, and unappealable. The penalty for such offense shall be within the absolute and sole discretion of the Commissioner and may include a fine, suspension, expulsion and/or perpetual disqualification from further association with the Association or any of its Members.
Additionally, per the league’s collective bargaining agreement, players have to take a mandatory gambling awareness program.
Expect very public player and personnel policy
As sports betting continues to roll out to more states, with so much at stake, expect stricter, clearly defined, and more public player policy from all professional leagues. It’s in the best interest of the leagues, players, and bettors.