Using the Internet for gambling is illegal in the United States. The Illegal Gambling Business Act (IGBA) and the Wire Act both prohibit illegal gambling on sporting events and contests. However, many Internet gambling sites don’t pay taxes to their home countries.

One interesting tidbit of information is that in 2004, the amount of money wagered through online gambling was around $4 billion. Of that amount, roughly one-third was for sports book betting. The rest of the money was for lottery tickets and other games.

In 2005, 18% of all Internet gambling revenue was for online poker. It’s estimated that six hundred to seven hundred gambling sites were operating at the time.

Some online gambling sites require players to download software. Others provide high-tech games that let users gamble in virtual reality. These sites use industry-standard 128-bit encryption and independent auditors to ensure that payouts are accurate.

In addition, the United States government has seized more than $3 million from a Discovery Communications subsidiary that accepted ads from Tropical Paradise, a Costa Rican casino operation. The government also warned PayPal, a payment service that accepts online gambling payments, that it could face legal action.

One of the more interesting questions in this debate is whether or not the law is actually protecting free speech. The Supreme Court has not ruled on the question. However, the First Amendment guarantees free speech.

The federal government has attempted to estimate the size of the Internet gambling market, but the size has been hard to pin down. The National Gambling Impact Study Commission has tried to come up with a rough estimate.