As individual states in the United States examine ways of expanding gambling, the flaws of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act become glaringly obvious.  The law was designed to obstruct payments to and from online casinos, but states are finding that it causes many more problems than that.

The common misconception is that the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act outlawed online gambling all throughout the United States.  That is false on many levels.  The first is that the law only targets online casinos.  In many states lotteries do perfectly legal business online.  Wagering on horse racing is even legal in some states.  The other side of the myth is that supposedly if a state wants to legalize online gambling, even online casinos, they are exempt from the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.

Illinois is about to find out how troublesome the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act can be.  Illinois, in an 87 to 27 vote in the House of Representatives has passed a measure to legalize wagering on horse races online.  The legislature is actually anticipating trouble from the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.  States like New Hampshire and North Dakota have experienced problems with their online lottery sales because of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.  The law has led banks to inadvertently blocking lottery ticket sales.

Gamblers wishing to wager on horse races from home will required to establish an online account.  Online gambling in Illinois will go well beyond wagering from a personal computer.  The online account will allow players access both their winnings and losses.  This is similar to the account system used at online casinos.