US authorities lack the jurisdiction to arrest the operators of illegal sports betting sites in locales such as Costa Rica, but that first arrest in 2000 set a precedent. That legal theory faceplanted in 2000 when the US government convicted and sentenced an American citizen to 21 months in prison and a $5,000 fine for offering sports betting to US residents in violation of the federal Wire Act. Early bookmakers operated on the premise that because their businesses were legal in their jurisdictions, US law had no jurisdiction over them. Offshore sportsbooks began taking wagers over the internet in the 1990s, and Costa Rica emerged as a popular destination for bookmakers for various reasons, including favorable laws. The early history of offshore sports betting is murky, but the first bookmakers set up shop overseas in the 1980s to take wagers from Americans by telephone.

Alternatives In States Without Legal Online Sports BettingĪs the name suggests, offshore sportsbooks operate from outside the US to offer online sports betting to US residents.

Advantages Of Licensed Online Sportsbooks.

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