Not long ago, LiveCasinoDirect.com received an email from a fan – hey, let the Os Man dream – named Mike, who wrote, “I like to know if online betting or sports betting is legal in California. Some people say yes, some people say no. What type of attorney would know this answer?

Surely Mike is not alone in this question or similar ones, as each state is allowing to define certain laws and regulations regarding gambling, despite a seeming overriding federal law apparently against any sort of online casino gaming. The situation is confusing, laws are often contradictory, and straight answers are difficult to get.

The following was The Os Man’s best effort to provide a concise explanation.

Mike, Wow. A seemingly easy question is really difficult. In fact, i even have a trick answer for you: It is in fact perfectly legal to gamble online anywhere in America. Technically, the law currently in place in the US (an insidious little Bush-ramrodded thing called UIGEA; a search online will get you all the information you want on this bill) only makes the exchange of money between US-based financial institutions and online casinos/sportsbooks illegal.

A fine distinction to be sure, but that's what makes the whole online gambling thing such a legal gray area. So i guess the answer to the original question is "yes and no."

Last i heard about California law specifically, Gov. Schwarzenegger was investigating an "intranet" system for California, which would allow residents of California (and those from computers in California, presumably) to gamble online but only at California-based (or California-approved) websites. I heard the study started in November/December, but haven't heard anything since -- the Governator's having too much fun with state budget problems currently, as i understand it.

Betting on sports is an even trickier issue. Technically, taking sports bets in America outside of Nevada is illegal, mostly because the NFL is quite influential in gambling lobbying in Washington D.C. Many UK-based bookies (and most online bookies seem to be based in the UK or Ireland) won't take US bets, but there are probably hundreds or thousands based elsewhere that will.

As for an individual actually getting arrested for playing online, i've never heard of a single incident. Probably your best bet if seeking legal advice would just be a simple civil-rights attorney or organization, as this could probably be argued in court as an individual-freedom issue.

Hope this helps.