General Do online gambling bans work?

Do online gambling bans actually work any more? While you might be able to ban gambling in a state, there's nothing stopping people accessing a casino based in another state, or Hong Kong, or Gibralter. My mobile, laptop and work PC all show IPs from different parts of the world depending on network, so IP-blocking or monitoring won't work, and winnings can be held in the casino account until someone moves to a place where they can claim them.

So do these bans actually work in reducing gambling, or just drive it underground?

I don't think they stop gambling completely. Casual gamers might get put off, but a determined or addicted gambler will find a way to play even if it involves betting on a yahoo game.

What I've seen happen in certain places is only online casinos being banned. In most cases, you can then walk into a casino and play poker, for instance. The question then is what danger do online casinos pose? Either way, I don't think its possible to completely impose such a ban.

lordcole said:

What I've seen happen in certain places is only online casinos being banned. In most cases, you can then walk into a casino and play poker, for instance. The question then is what danger do online casinos pose?

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I'd suspect that those bans are in place to ensure gambling revenues go to the state or location where the casinos are based and reduce that lost to the places where the online casinos are based. It might also be to protect jobs if it is in an area where casinos are a major industry.

I don't think that online gambling bans are 100% efficient. A person could easily go to another site that doesn't keep track of the bans or care about it, or they could also use a friend's identity.