The federal government has enacted a few laws that affect online gambling all across the country and many states have in turn crafted their own to follow suit or further restrict these policies. While it is a serious crime to engage in the business of gambling or facilitate bets for profit, the average citizen is still able to place a bet. Only the venues are able to take such bets that have fallen to the wayside. Luckily, there are a few loopholes to these laws for anyone who wishes to gamble legally online and brushing up on one’s own local regulations can make all the difference in knowing where and how to do so. This page is here for residents of Louisiana who wish to educate themselves on both federal and state policies regarding legal gambling sites for Louisiana players over a wide variety of formats.
Due to the all-encompassing effects of the Federal Wire Act and the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), sports betting is illegal in forty-six of fifty states in both land-based facilities as well as over the internet. This only applies to those wishing to engage in the business of sports betting or facilitating bets for profit however. The simple act of placing a bet on a team or player remains legal under federal law. This means that anyone who does wish to place a bet is legally able to do so if it is through a legal sportsbook, live or online. This is great news for bettors looking to wager on their favorite team or player as a number of online sportsbooks exist outside of federal jurisdiction and are available to U.S. citizens looking to exercise their right to place a bet.
Since Louisiana is one of the forty-six states not exempt from the far-reaching rule of PASPA, there is no legal, land based sports betting within the state’s borders. There is also no written legislation for sports betting as federal law would negate any policies written on the matter. This does not mean that placing a bet on the Saints or Tigers is completely out of the question however. As there are no local regulations regarding sports betting, locals only have to turn to the federal laws to determine what they can and cannot do. Any legal Louisiana sports betting site that is located outside of the United States is not bound to federal or state law, which means that anyone in Louisiana is able to visit and place a bet at such a network.
The federal policy on online casinos is absolute through a variety of different laws. The Federal Wire Act and the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) both play a hand in regulating how one may pull the lever on a virtual slot machine or play a hand of blackjack for real money. These laws forbid the business of gambling on U.S. soil and restrict monetary transactions over the internet while leaving the simple act of placing a bet legal. This means that while gambling is okay, the venues in which to do so may be hard to find. The simple solution to this problem is to find legal online gambling sites that exist outside of federal jurisdiction of which there are many. Since U.S. citizens are able to bet legally, they are legally able to visit and utilize any site not located in U.S. territory.
In the State of Louisiana, the local gambling laws continue to follow the federal template already in place. The Bayou State provides many licensed betting options with the only restrictions being that no one engages in the business of gambling. The legalese in the state’s constitution mentions the internet but only in forbidding the operation of an illicit online gambling network. It is still legal for anyone in Louisiana to place a bet online if it is with a legal online casino that accepts Louisiana players that is either licensed by the state or located outside of both state and federal jurisdictions. This means that recreational gamblers are free to play all of their favorite casino games, safely and legally, from the comfort of any Louisiana residence.
Online poker is much the same as online casinos in the state of Louisiana. The UIGEA is the most influential piece of federal legislation when it comes to a hand of Texas Hold ‘Em for real money over the internet, as no online poker room in the United States is able to process financial transactions from within the law’s jurisdiction. This does not hinder any player from the act of placing a bet in their favorite game, however. It is still legal under federal rule to play poker for money if a player is not taking a cut of any game other than personal winnings and is playing at a legal venue. Since we know this as a fact, players may visit any online poker room that is not bound to U.S. laws and play as many hands for real money as they wish.
The State of Louisiana follows closely to the Federal laws only outlaw the business of online poker. The Bayou State makes mention of the internet in its legislation by clearly stating that anyone who conducts a gambling business or operates a gambling site will be in direct violation of state law with steep fines and jail time. The law does not mention however, any sort of penalty for those who wish to wager on a hand of Texas Hold ‘Em. This means that anyone in the Bayou State who simply refrains from running their own poker site is free to visit any legal online poker rooms for Louisiana residents operating outside of state and federal jurisdictions to play for real cash.
With the only necessary trait for an online gambling site’s legality being its location outside of federal jurisdiction, there are many legal Louisiana gambling sites available. In fact, many of these sites have been in business for generations and are even of a specific design for an American audience despite their foreign locations. Operators of legal online gambling sites are well aware of the legal loopholes within the federal laws and are eager to provide the best services possible to U.S. bettors and players. A few online gambling sites stand a cut above the rest in providing safe, secure and reliable action for real money to Americans and we will share them with you below.
Perhaps the very best online gambling site in the industry, Bovada.lv has been in business for decades with an emphasis put on service to American players. This betting network initially began as an American company that only moved to neighboring Canada after reinterpretations took place of existing federal laws necessitating a move to continue service. They currently reside outside of federal jurisdiction in Montreal providing every major form of gambling to their members, licensed under the reputable Kahnawake Gaming Commission.
Featuring a vast network of betting for sports, classic casino games, horseracing and the largest base of poker players in the country, Bovada.lv is the top choice for anyone residing in Louisiana looking to win big on any platform. The site interface allows for playing from a desktop or mobile device and as this online gambling site serves as the gold standard of the industry, offering more wagering features than that of a Las Vegas Casino. Bovada.lv is available to any Louisiana resident aged 18 or older and provides some of the most generous signup incentives in the game as folks are able to win before they make their first bet in anything from Texas Hold ‘Em, Blackjack, Slots or even a wager on the Bayou Bengals.