All 50 State Attorneys General Call on Justice Department to Combat Offshore Casinos
Posted on: August 6, 2025, 12:03h.
Last updated on: August 6, 2025, 09:39h.
- All 50 state attorneys general are asking the DOJ to target offshore gambling ops
- Online casino gambling is allowed in only seven states
- Offshore casinos and sportsbooks target players in prohibited markets
All 50 state attorneys general are calling on the United States Department of Justice to better enforce federal and state online gambling laws.
In a letter from the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) signed by all 50 state AGs, the group of chief legal advisors and prosecutors requests that US Attorney General Pam Bondi “address the rampant spread of illegal offshore gaming operations” across the country.
“Our States have heard reports concerning growth in the illicit offshore gambling markets that could be harming our citizens,” the letter began.
While we as States do all we can to protect our citizens, such unlawful enterprises undermine the rule of law, threaten consumer protection, and deprive our States of significant tax revenues and economic benefits. We seek the U.S. DOJ’s cooperation in ensuring these companies are brought to justice to the fullest extent available under state and federal law, both criminal and civil, for any potential violations,” the attorneys general continued.
The NAAG is a nonpartisan national forum for attorneys general that provides a community and collaborative setting to address vital issues.
Escalating Problem
Offshore gambling websites cater to players in places where online casinos aren’t allowed, which includes 43 of the 50 US states. Such fraudulent websites often operate from jurisdictions that are friendly to online gaming businesses, including the Philippines, Malta, Curacao, the Isle of Man, Anjouan, Gibraltar, and Ukraine.
While gaming regulators in those jurisdictions govern their licensed online gaming operators for fair play and some consumer safeguards, they don’t often restrict where a company’s online slots and table games are accessed. Most offshore casino platforms also offer sports betting.
In the US, states have the power to determine if iGaming is permitted. Currently, online casinos are licensed only in Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and West Virginia. Those states issue licenses to qualified online casino businesses such as DraftKings and FanDuel.
However, residents in the 43 other states have many options to gamble on unregulated, illegal casino websites operating overseas. The attorneys general say they have limited resources in combating and/or prosecuting such apps, but Bondi does.
The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA) — a component of the SAFE Port Act — was signed into law by President George W. Bush. UIGEA makes it a federal crime for an overseas or domestic gambling business from “knowingly accepting payments in connection with the participation of another person in a bet or wager that involves the use of the internet and that is unlawful under any federal or state law.”
The attorneys general tell Bondi that her DOJ can pursue injunctive relief against offshore gambling organizations and has the authority to seize assets — as the federal government did on poker’s “Black Friday” in 2011.
Offshore Copying Legitimate Casinos
Casinos in the US have repeatedly had their name, image, and likeness stolen by offshore casino platforms that use their credibility to deceive consumers into thinking they run a legitimate online gambling operation.
From MGM’s Beau Rivage in Mississippi to Plainridge Park in Massachusetts and west to the Muckleshoot Casino Resort in Washington, the fraudulent ads have become rampant on social media, prompting numerous casinos to caution the public that they are illegitimate and unassociated with their land-based properties.
The attorneys general are asking that the DOJ pursue injunctive relief under federal law, seize assets and domain names of illegal offshore gaming operators, coordinate with financial institutions to block unlawful transactions, and dismantle the financial infrastructure supporting the offshore gaming ops.
Last Comments ( 2 )
The State of Nevada is a joke when it comes to gambling options for the residents. Fan dual and Draft Kings should be in EVERY state by now. Wake the fuck upon and do what's right fro your residents. !
I hope Pam Bondi sues every single state that still to this day does not allow the operation of fanduel and draftkings, and yet still had the audacity to complain to her about potential tax tevenue losses to online-offshore gambling. I hope she sues them and that each of the 43/50 states that still prohibits drafkings and fanduel has their state Attorney General called out and personally sued. They allow the worst apps to operate like doordash, grubhub, uber eats and all the rest of the trash apps, but then complain when there is a real- negative effect they can measure in the billions of dollars of lost tax revenue? What a lot of complainy cunts who deserve to be sued for DIRECTLY contributing to their own problems. States who still prohibit use of fanduel and draftkings: GET THE FUCK OUT OF YOUR OWN WAY!!!!!!!