Where are online casinos located?

Online casinos are usually based in offshore jurisdictions. They are generally licensed in the country they are in and have to report to the local government to some extent. Antigua, Curacao, St. Kitts, Grenada, Dominican Republican, Gibraltar, Cook Islands are just a few countries that license them. Having said this though, most of the companies that run casinos offshore are actually operated from the US - it is just their servers that are located offshore. The reason these small countries allow Online Gambling operatiors to set up is vecause it can help boost their economy. Companies pay anything up to $100,000 to gain a gaming license in these countries, as well as paying ongoing taxes to the local Government.

The situation in the United States is a little more complicated. The US Senate, led by Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona, has been moving forward with legislation that will make most forms of online gambling illegal -- including gambling at online casinos. How this will be enforced if it ever becomes law is unclear. The proposed legislation targets casino operators, not the average person gambling from their home.

In contrast, Nevada is considering legislation that would allow Las Vegas casinos such as Caesar's Palace and Harrah's to legally operate online casinos.

Some online casinos are not accepting wagers from United States residents until the laws are clarified. Even so, some estimates indicate that up to 90% of online gamblers are in the US.

Currently, all online casinos operate their servers outside the US. Most are located in the Caribbean and Kahnawake, where online gambling licenses are available.