The Origins of Gambling Online - Part 2

Even though online casinos were legal directly after their creation, there are still ongoing legal battles being waged in order to protect the industry and the players. For more than five years now, online casinos have been illegal in several countries.

The United States

In 2006, President George W. Bush signed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act--or UIGEA--into law. This law essentially made online gambling illegal in the United States, though there has not been a single documented case of a person being prosecuted for gambling to date. The law seeks to prosecute American banks and financial institutions that allow transactions between online casinos, instead.

Australia

While it took the United States almost a decade after the inception of online gambling to declare it illegal, the games were banned in Australia shortly after launch. Lasseters, one of the biggest casinos in the area, was banned for all Australian citizens and remains illegal to this day. However, in 1999, those Australians who were responsible for representing online gambling to the government introduced a new concept known as external auditing. Legal battles are still ongoing, but things are looking positive for the Australian people.

Introducing Progressive Jackpots

Once the Australian and United States markets all but disappeared from the scene due to the new laws and restrictions, the online casinos had to decide the best way to go about improving their new memberships. Therein lays the reasoning behind progressive jackpots, one of the most industry-changing inventions of all time. Instead of consisting of a set amount of money, these jackpots grow collectively across a network and offer players a chance to win up to a million dollars or more.

Although online gambling has certainly been met with its fair share of opposition, players who enjoy the games will always find a way. Online casinos are expected to continue to grow in popularity with each passing year.