Online gambling is a growing industry that originated in the late 1990s. By 1997, there were already about 15 gambling websites online, and by 1998, there were about 200. A Frost & Sullivan report estimated that revenues from online gambling exceeded $830 million in 1998. The first online poker rooms were also launched in 1998. In 1999, a bill was introduced in the US Senate that would have banned online gambling for U.S. citizens. In the same year, multiplayer online gambling was introduced.
While online gambling is still illegal in many jurisdictions, the United States government has begun to crack down on the industry. New York Republican Congressman Peter King introduced the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection Act of 2013, which would establish uniform standards for online gambling. The goal is to make online gambling more legal and easier to regulate. Proponents of the bill point to the importance of a common federal standard for Internet gambling and argue that this will make legalization and expansion strategies more manageable. The bill would also establish a new office within the Treasury Department to oversee online gambling.
Gambling bonuses always come with wagering requirements, so be sure to read the fine print carefully. Depending on your preferences, you should find a site that offers a variety of payment methods. Fortunately, many sites offer a variety of convenient, quick, and secure options for deposits and withdrawals.