美国的在线赌场赌博是非法的吗？

　　虽然我们是英国的一个重点网站（其中在线赌场，扑克室，宾果和体育博彩是由英国政府监管的，是合法的），我们似乎被越来越来自美国的访问者访问，于是，我们对美国的在线赌场的合法性提出了许多疑问。

　　我想这必须是需要由美国政府当局来做出决定的，但无论如何，我们决定代表我们美国的兄弟来做一次调查，试图了解关于美国本土的法律状况。

　　当然，当你谈论美国的法律时，事情变得有点阴沉，没有黑色和白色。你或许已经了解到，联邦法律涵盖整个美国各个州的法律。

　　我们可以看到，目前美国暂时没有对在美国的网上赌博进行合法化的联邦法律，制定有网上赌博的相关法律的唯一城市是华盛顿城市。

　　但这还不是大多数投注者的印象。这也许就是当局的目的。

　　与赌博有关联邦法律主要是1961年和1992年的专业和业余体育保护法，以及臭名昭著的UIGEA，在2006年通过的。

　　导致我们相信，体育保护法只适用于体育赌博，顾名思义。

　　据美国法院解释，该体育保护法确实只适用于体育博彩。UIGEA法律认为互联网赌博是非法的，他们禁的金融机构开展网上赌博付款业务。

　　实际上网上赌博是非法，即使法律没有定义它。当局一直在背后进行着一些活动，企图扼杀赌场和扑克的公司以及金融机构在这一领域的活动，可见美国当局针对的不是玩家。

　　在我们英国这里看来，这一切似乎很奇怪。为什么不规范或禁止它买断？

　　许多网上赌场公司似乎是向美国玩家做宣传广告。很多美国玩家都还在玩晚上游戏（美国玩家仍然占50％的在线赌博市场）。

　　所以，网上赌博在美国是非法的吗？我不知道，没有特别明确的想法。

　　译文：

　　Is Online Casino Gambling Illegal in the US?

　　Although we are a UK focused site （where online casinos, poker rooms, bingo and sports betting are regulated by the UK government and are legal）， we seem to be getting alot of queries from visitors from the US as to the legality of online casinos in the United States.

　　I guess this must be something to do with the change of President or something, but anyway we decided to investigate on behalf of our American cousins to try and understand a little abit about the legal situation Stateside （I thought America was the “Land of The Free”？…what happened to that? （har har）。

　　Well of course when you are talking US law, things get a bit murky and there is no black and white. You’ve got your federal laws that cover the whole of the US and your State laws.

　　As far as we can see, there is no federal law against online gambling in the US, and the only state to have a law against gambling online is Washington.

　　But this is not the impression that most punters have （maybe that is the authorities’ aim）。

　　The main pieces of federal law relating to gambling are the Wire Act of 1961, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, and the infamous UIGEA, passed in 2006.

　　We are led to believe that the Sports Protection Act only applies to sports gambling, as its name suggests.

　　The Wire Act is probably the most famous one. It has been interpreted by US Courts to apply only to sports betting. The other piece of legislation- the UIGEA does not make Internet gambling illegal, but targets the financial institutions and forbids them making payments that have anything to do with online gambling.

　　The law does not say illegal online gambling actually is- ie it doesn’t define it. The bottom line is that the whole thing is a right mess- no-one really know for sure what the lay of the land is. But the authorities have been going after the casino and poker companies and the financial institutions in a bid to strangle off activity in this area, rather than targeting players.

　　It all seems pretty weird to us sitting here in the UK. Why the cloak and dagger stuff? Why not just regulate it or ban it outright?

　　Lots of companies seem to be advertising for players in the US still. And lots of players are still playing （the US still accounts for 50% of the online gambling market）。 “Go figure. You do the math etc etc”。

　　So is online gambling illegal in the United States? Search me. No idea. No tengo ningun idea. But it doesn’t seem to be putting anyone off.