Introduction
to the EU and US bingo online
The game of bingo originated in Italy and
is sometimes known as ‘’housie’’ or ‘’tombola’’ in the UK and the rest of the EU.
In the USA, the name evolved from ‘’beano,’’ which was later rechristened
‘’bingo.’’ In the USA, you will find that gaming enthusiasts usually play the
75 ball bingo while in the EU it is the 90 ball. US bingo online is a popular
pastime and there is a slight difference in the rules to their counterparts in
the EU.
There is no common jurisdiction that
regulates the gambling halls spread across the globe. When we discuss the
subject of online gambling laws and regulations, we face quite a few
challenges. Most regions have their own laws and they deal with legal and
regulatory issues in their own zones and in their own ways.
The
US
bingo online gaming laws
The Wire Act of 1961 had made interstate
telephone betting illegal. This act also applied to wagering and gambling over
the internet. In 2006 the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA)
was passed. However, both the acts did not give precise directives about the
gambling laws in the USA.
UIGEA did not make us bingo online gambling legal or illegal, but merely gave directives to banks and financial
institutions not to process any transaction which was associated with online
gambling. This affected the online casino industry because many casino
managements considered it as a move to stop accepting USA customers.
The
EU online gaming laws
Gambling laws in Europe vary from one
country to another. Generally, every nation is responsible for its own
legislation. The best part is that the legislation is very clear about what
should be followed and what should be avoided. These transparent laws are very
good for the casino operators as it makes things easy to comprehend.
In the last few years many countries have
changed their laws. Even though Europe is considered as a ‘’single state’’ in
various government legislations, the gambling industry operates in a different
way.
These
are the notable jurisdictions in the EU
- The Alderney Gambling Control commission
- Gambling legislation in Gibraltar
- Gambling legislation in the Isle of Man
- Gambling legislation in Malta
The
difference between EU and US bingo online laws
Now that we have looked into the basic laws
and jurisdictions which regulate USA and EU gaming laws, we need to understand
the difference between EU and US bingo online laws. Since bingo is a family
game and spreads a community feeling, it finally got a relaxation from the US
gambling laws some time ago. The only condition, however, was that real money
should not be involved.
In the US there are state laws, federal
laws and charitable laws. Since bingo was originally played in charitable
events as fund raiser, the USA government is not very strict about USA bingo
online laws if it is played for purposes related to charity.
In the EU, gambling is not looked at as a
punishable offence, so therefore online gambling operators operating within the
EU’s jurisdiction, do not have any issues about running bingo games online for
money. A number of operators based in the EU continue to accept US based
customers as they state that the jurisdiction is separate.
Since us bingo online halls in the EU are
not regulated by the USA laws, they can accept customers from the USA. The
other fact is that gambling is a huge business, and EU based casino sites have
made the most of this golden opportunity by luring USA based customers following
the enforcement of UIGEA.
Most sites will let you know if you can
play there legally or not as these days everything is tracked by the IP
address. Whether you are a USA citizen or not, playing us bingo online should
not be a challenge for you as there are many sites that accept USA gamblers. If
you are not playing for money, then it is as easy in the USA as it is in the EU. If you are wagering with real money, we
suggest you to read the rules and regulations on the site before starting to gamble.
