There are a number of legal issues surrounding online gambling. While gambling is generally legal in 48 states, a small number of states, such as Hawaii and Utah, prohibit it. These states have large Hawaiian and Mormon populations and similar religious climates. In addition, there are also anti-gambling laws in Wisconsin and Idaho. Online casinos and poker sites are illegal in most states, so if you are a resident of one of these states, you should not be able to gamble online.
Although the World Trade Organization is a global body that sets and enforces trade agreements, there are many countries that disagree with it. For example, Antigua and Barbuda argued that the United States’ ban on online gambling was harming their economy and putting thousands of jobs at risk. The World Trade Organization ruled in 2004 that the United States’ laws on online gambling were illegal. Despite this ruling, the United States has yet to make a major change in its stance on online gambling.
A new study from the Annenberg Public Policy Center found that nearly 20% of college students regularly play online poker. According to the survey, the number of college students who play online poker increased from four percent to 16 percent in a decade. Moreover, the frequency of online gambling among college-age males increased from three percent per week to more than 20% monthly. That increase is far higher than the percentage of high school females who play online. And yet another study shows that online sports gambling is on the rise.