Utah Second State to Make Online Gambling Illegal
Utah has become the second state in the US to specifically make Internet gambling illegal.
House Bill 108 was passed last week and designed to ensure an opt-out for the state should online poker and casino games become legalized on the state front. Neighboring Nevada has already passed legislation allowing for Web poker within that state’s borders.
State Representative Stephen Sandstrom introduced the bill back in January.
“Without courageous leadership to block Internet gaming, Utah could see Indian casinos popping up statewide in just a few years,” he said. “Utah is only one of two states that prohibit any form of gambling, Hawaii being the other. Unfortunately, this could change soon because Hawaii is currently considering legalizing gaming leaving Utah to fight the principled fight against legalized gambling on its own.”
Only two out of twenty seven members voted against the bill.
House Bill 108 is not as draconian as Washington State’s law that makes it a Class C felony for residents of that state to gamble online.
Last week, online gambling site Bovada.lv informed its Utah customers they will no longer be able to gamble with the company online.
- Ace King, Gambling911.com
