Online Gambling Laws

[ghostsoulsx57]

What is the name of your state? Oklahoma

I was told that most if not all gambling websites are illegal or have very strict laws, rules and regulations. In this case there is a Bingo Game online. You can win cash and prizes. To get into the big games to win the Cash and Prizes and Trips... you must have game tokens. You can't "buy" tokens on the website, that is what I believe is the illegal part, and considered gambling. But what this website does, is they put together a monthly "Bingo Magazine", all about the website, the games they play, who the winners are, what they won, and other Bingo News... They charge $20.00 for this Online Publication. But if you order the magazine every single month, you get 300 Bingo Game tokens FREE to play in the big game rooms. The prizes and cash are awarded. They also sell merchandise, some real, some virtual (like animal shaped virtual daubers to mark your cards with for $2.99 each, and with each separate purchase you get 20 FREE tokens) Everyone all knows they don't want a magazine, they just want the tokens to gamble with and would not otherwise buy the online magazine if they didn't get the game tokens.

So my question in, to get around the gambling laws, can you sell a virtual item, that has no monetary value, as a ruse to give out the game tokens so people can use them to gamble with, which is what they are doing?

 

[adjusterjack]

Call your state's attorney general's office and lay this out for them. They will tell you if it's illegal or not.

 

[quincy]

Here is a link to Oklahoma’s gambling laws:

https://casetext.com/statute/oklahoma-statutes/title-21-crimes-and-punishments/chapter-38-gambling

From where does this Bingo Game originate? Oklahoma does not regulate online gambling sites (they are not legal to operate in the State) but gambling websites themselves are not necessarily illegal.

Have you read the website’s terms and conditions of use?

adjusterjack’s suggestion is probably the easiest way for you to find the answer you seek.

 

[ghostsoulsx57]

TY for the link

They originate from Australia...

 

[quincy]

TY for the link

They originate from Australia...

Online gambling, including bingo, is regulated in Australia both federally, and under state and territorial laws. Whether the website you are inquiring about violates any of the various and assorted laws there would be a question for Australian authorities.

Because Oklahoma does have legal gambling offered in casinos in your state, it would be best to limit your gambling to the sites you can visit personally. And it is smart for anyone in a state that allows online gambling to not only investigate thoroughly any site before providing financial information but to also avoid all sites that originate overseas.

 

[Taxing Matters]

What is the name of your state? Oklahoma
So my question in, to get around the gambling laws, can you sell a virtual item, that has no monetary value, as a ruse to give out the game tokens so people can use them to gamble with, which is what they are doing?

The duck test applies here: If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck. Anyone looking at what's going on is going to see the duck (the gambling) despite the effort to hide the duck by bundling it with something worthless. People come up with these kinds of schemes thinking they've found a technicality around the law. Rarely do they succeed because they don't have a good grasp of the how the law is applied. In the state of OK any kind of gambling other some games run for charity are illegal, both for the person operating the game and the gambler playing the game. The exception is, of course, Native American reservations which are largely exempt from state law. So if you gamble anywhere in the state that is not a Native American reservation, whether in person or online, you are commiting a crime. Specifically, OK Stat. § 21-942 states:

Any person who bets or plays at any of said prohibited games, or who shall bet or play at any games whatsoever, for money, property, checks, credits or other representatives of value with cards, dice or any other device which may be adapted to or used in playing any game of chance or in which chance is a material element, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not less than Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00), nor more than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00), or by imprisonment in the county jail for a term of not less than one (1) day, nor more than thirty (30) days, or by both such fine and imprisonment.​

The fine is pretty small because this law was first enacted in 1915 when the average salary was just $687 per year, or $57/month. That means the maximum fine of $100 was almost two months salary for the average worker. The average salary in 2024 is just under $60,000/ year, or $5,000/month. If the fine kept up with inflation today it would be about $8,772. But while the fine is pretty trivial today the jail time still has some bite to it. It's a misdemeanor offense, which would show up on criminal background checks run by employers and that might make job hunting harder.

The OK legislature has tried in the last two years to pass a bill that would allow at least some form of gambling in OK but the legislature and the governor are at odds over what should be allowed.

 

[quincy]

It is important to remember that you may be able to download gambling apps and access gambling websites and view gambling content but availability and access alone says nothing to the legality.

 

[ghostsoulsx57]

TY so much for your replies, it is greatly appreciated, and it explains a lot.

 

[quincy]

Both Taxing Matters and I appreciate the thanks, ghostsoulsx57, so thank you.

 

[huddy61]

Isn't the fact that you can gain a way to play for free the bullet that tears down the "gambling facade" of this? I've put the quotes there because it legally it isn't gambling right?

 

[quincy]

Isn't the fact that you can gain a way to play for free the bullet that tears down the "gambling facade" of this? I've put the quotes there because it legally it isn't gambling right?

If it costs nothing to access the game, and if it costs nothing to play the game, and if it costs nothing if you win or lose the game, then the game would not be considered gambling under any law that I am familiar with.

 

[huddy61]

If it costs nothing to access the game, and if it costs nothing to play the game, and if it costs nothing if you win or lose the game, then the game would not be considered gambling under any law that I am familiar with.

So is the access through magazines coupons technically gambling or not? In your opinion, of course

 

[quincy]

So is the access through magazines coupons technically gambling or not? In your opinion, of course

It could be. If there are ways to access and play the game without paying, however, then those living in states where online gambling is prohibited could play without violating gambling laws. Many of these games that are accessible to anyone offer both free games and pay-to-play games.

It helps to know what the law considers “gambling.” Here is a good overview from Cornell Law School:

https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/gambling#:~:text=Gambling Law: An Overview,determined by the specific outcome.

When in doubt, you can always contact your state’s gaming control commission.