|
Online Sportsbook Basics A sportsbook is a place where
gamblers wager on the results of various sports competitions -
football, basketball, baseball, soccer, or horse racing. Sports betting
is favored by millions of sports fan all over the world. The method of
sports betting varies with the type of sport, the game of betting.
Internet sports book, like other types of online casinos or virtual
casinos, is a derivation of the land-based traditional sportsbook. An
Internet sports book provides diverse games or a single one depending
on the website operation, franchise, etc. While Internet sportsbooks
lack the excitement of face-to-face experience, they can operate much
more cost effectively than land-based sportsbooks. They offer other
types of online gambling - casino games, blackjack, poker etc.. Among
various types of sports, football fans with gambling interests are
often busy with NFL football betting lines. The History On
August 18, 1995 the world's first online casino Internet Casinos, Inc.
(ICI) debuted. ICI operated with 18 different casino games and for the
first time offering also online access to the National Indian Lottery.
In the early days ICI operated out of the Turks and Caicos Islands,
outside the United States to avoid government prosecution. In the mid
90's, the Gaming Club and Intertops casino and sports book launched the
first online sports book before Internet Casinos, Inc.. Building a
reputable service with reliable payouts, high security, efficient
customer support, and serving a large number of customers excited with
this new gambling modality, the online casino succeeded. The
spring of 1996, The Interactive Gaming & Communications Corp
launched an online casino and soon became a publicly traded company
listed on NASDAQ. The financial success of this online casino is not
only the internet, but also the acceptance of bettors' sports wagers
via telephone calls to Antigua on a toll free line via satellite. General Legal Issues Sportsbooks
face the same legal issues like other types of online casinos. Europe
and other countries have more tolerance for online gambling than US
government. So most of the online casino companies are located outside
of the United States to avoid government prosecution because the United
States Federal Appeals Courts has ruled about the Federal Wire Act
prohibiting electronic transmission of information for sports betting
across state lines, but there is no a specific law prohibiting gambling
of any other kind. In fact, several states rule in favor of land-based
gambling but having specific laws against online gambling of any kind. While
the internet has no frontiers, gambling seems to be ruled by physical
country delimiters-boundaries. Gambling is legal and regulated in
Caribbean Nations and most European countries, such as Malta and the
United Kingdom from where wide arrays of online casinos operate.
However, in America, law says that owning an online casino or gambling
related business without getting a license first may result as an
illegal act, but if any individual would be willing to get one, there
are no states nationwide that are currently granting online gaming
licenses.
| 
