Online Casino Patrons Confused by Legal Illinois Internet Gaming

Race tracks in Illinois are excited by the coming of Internet gambling, which confuses online casino players who are told by the US that all online gambling is illegal.

Some Illinois race tracks are cutting back on live racing days, but still express excitement at future betting revenues as online gambling on horse racing may bring huge new sources of income. Meanwhile, US online casinos players are confused as to how the tracks conduct Internet gambling openly even as the US Department of Justice says all online gambling is illegal.

Governor Pat Quinn signed into law a bill allowing the tracks to accept online wagering from customers with funded accounts. Tracks such as Fairmount Park can drop some of its live racing and still look to greatly increase income, as long as they meet minimal requirements, including having a license for live racing and scheduling some live dates.

Perhaps to differentiate the Internet gambling  operated by the race tracks from the gaming operated by online casinos, the term "advance deposit wagering" has been coined to refer to the Illinois procedure. Of course, online casinos also require an advance deposit, and then permit wagering, so the nominal difference seems an unlikely method of determining legality.

"I'm tickled to the death that we have advance deposit wagering," Lanny Brooks of the Illinois Horsemen's Association told the News-Democrat. "The future of Fairmount Park is going to be colossal."

But online casino players don't understand why the law allows Fairmount to accept Internet gambling and their venues are called illegal.

"Ilinois lawmakers may say the racing online betting is legalized by the recent law, but in the US, laws aren't required for activities to be legal," says OCA senior gaming analyst Sherman Bradley. "Any activity, such as playing at online casinos, is legal until a law declares it not so."