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Online Casinos in the USA versus
Online Casinos in the UK |
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Now that online gambling is
spreading across the USA, players in the UK might get the idea that more choice
and competition will offer them better deals and sign-up offers, as that is
what normally happens when the consumer is presented with more options. In this
case not so as things are quite a bit different across the pond than they are
in the UK or even Europe. One important thing to understand is that no
legitimate U.S. casino will allow UK players to play on their site. If you find
one that does then it will not be based in the USA but likely somewhere
offshore and we advise treating the situation with extreme
caution.
Age
One obvious difference that younger players
will encounter is the age at which you can gamble at USA casinos is different
than in the UK and this applies online as well as the physical casinos. You
have to be 21 in the USA to gamble absolutely everywhere, even if you are not
American. Across the border in Canada it is 19 except in Alberta, Manitoba and
Quebec where it is 18.
Geolocation
All legitimate online casinos around
the world now have geolocation as standard. If yours doesn't then beware. This
is done because licensing is strict and casinos allowing nationals from
countries where either gambling is prohibited, or the countries license
themselves, will get the attention of serious fines and legal actions. However
it is normal for the geolocation to take place on a nation wide basis. In the
USA it is done by state because of the complex rules surrounding gambling
created by federal law intervention in internal state operations. The Federal
Wire Act still prevents cross-border gambling transactions by phone and the
internet.
If you are in a U.S. state that has online facilities and you
go to some online casinos USA, whether
on a computer or mobile app, you will also be getting a geolocation app that
will verify your exact location every time you play. If you happen to be near a
state line and the software thinks you are across the border by six feet, then
you will be excluded from joining in.
Tax
Something quite shocking to UK players is
that gambling winnings over $5000 are subject to a 24% tax unless you declare
yourself a professional gambler and then you get taxed as self employed and at
the normal income tax rates for your state. If you are from one of the
countries with mutual tax agreements, like the UK, then you can fill in a tax
exemption form and be exempt from the tax withholding should you strike it
lucky.
Scarily if you are an American citizen playing online then you
will have to enter you social security number and you will have a tax file
generated for you by the casino operator. Loses will offset winnings and you
will have to pay tax on any winnings over an amount set by the state, normally
$5000 but in some its as low as $1500. Be warned.
Games
Most of the casino games are the
same as in the UK with some rule tweaks that the savvy punter should
investigate at each individual casino. All the
real money pokies and
standard table games are there provided by the big software house that they use
in both countries. Some crucial differences to know are with games like
roulette where the odds are seriously different.
American Roulette is
proudly displayed in the USA but it always has a Zero and a Double Zero as
standard. This gives the house an edge of 5.4% which is massive. There are
other versions like 100-1 roulette but this has one hundred numbers with 5
symbols, so the edge is 5% against you. You can of course hunt down the games
labelled “European” or “French” and then you'll be back to
the single Zero games with and edge of 2.78%.
Whilst American Roulette
is not recommended the blackjack games are better than you might find in the UK
or elsewhere in the world. The rules are more favourable with double down
allowed on any 2 cards and early surrender which you won't find in the UK.
Check your basic strategy tables for the rules that you find as they are
different fro casino to casino and state to state. |
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