According to the U.S. law, in particular the Wire Act, gambling through telecommunications is forbidden. This means that online gambling is forbidden, with the exception of interstate online betting on horseracing, which is allowed by the Interstate Horseracing Act.

The Department of Justice has made it clear in the past that U.S. companies that facilitate illegal online gambling are complice in criminal acts. Credit card companies in the U.S. do not take transactions from foreign betting sites, but other means exist to circumvene the law. For example, it is possible to transfer money by credit card to an online bank, from which you can make payments to off-shore gambling sites.