What Does the Future Hold for Sports Betting?
The ongoing debate on the legality of sports betting is once again a relevant topic, in June the Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeal of the state of New Jersey to revoke a ban on sports betting, and there are other states who are trying to do the same.
The Legal Aspects
So, what does this mean for the age-old question of, is being a bookie illegal? Well, in the short term, not much, but, the future looks extremely bright for the thousands of independent bookies who are currently living in limbo.
Back in 2006, the local gambling industry was shaken to its core when the Gambling Enforcement Act went into effect, but, thanks to offshore pay per head services like www.AcePerHead.com, they were able to continue doing business as usual.
Bookies, moved their operations offshore to avoid penalties in the US, for players there has never been much of a risk since most states do not consider betting a felony, if someone is caught betting outside of Nevada, in most cases the worst that can happen is they are charged with a misdemeanor. Bookies, however, are subject to criminal charges for accepting bets outside of Vegas, but, by moving their businesses offshore they have circumvented the law.
There are however ways for a bookie to still get themselves in trouble, but, the risk is greatly reduced by operating offshore. Pay per head companies operate legally in various countries as they are considered to be data centers, where servers receive and store transactions, this provides independent bookies with a degree of security they don't have when operating solely on US soil.
Last year American's wagered an estimated $150 billion, most of which was processed offshore, states like New Jersey have realized the loss of income from taxes by upholding a ban on sports betting, which is why they want to revoke it. If they succeed, other states will follow and in no time the federal government will be forced to admit their foolishness and legalize sports betting across the country.
At first state governments will want complete control over the new legal business, but, they will change their minds very quickly and allow independent bookies to operate from wherever they want as long as they are regulated and taxed accordingly.
This means pay per head businesses will continue to operate legally and provide excellent service to the thousands of bookies who currently use their services. Clearly, not every pay per head will be in a position to compete, only the larger, more experienced and economically stable companies will remain in operation because they will be able to adapt and conform to new regulations. This means that if you are currently working with Ace Per Head, you have nothing to worry about.
If on the other hand, you are not sure if your current price per head provider will be capable of surviving the change, then your best bet is to switch now, the changes in legislation could happen very soon and you don't want to be caught off guard.
Bottom line, the dilemma of is being a bookie is illegal or not, may soon be over.
