Casinos in Montana
Montana is one of the few states that have recently updated their gambling laws, which means that the current regulations address the issue of online casino gaming. Nevertheless, the state does not have a regulated online casino market – and if that wasn’t bad enough, Montana regulations prohibit the residents from playing on offshore sites. On a brighter note, Montana-based gambling enthusiasts are free to wager on horse races and greyhound races, take part in a state-run online lottery games or play casino games at the local Native American casinos.
Montana Gambling Laws
As mentioned above, Montana gambling laws are very effective when it comes to protecting local gambling businesses. According to Section 23 of the Montana State Code, all forms of public gambling are illegal unless authorized by the state. The penalties for hosting illegal real money games are among some of the most severe in the country. Even individual players involved in criminal activities have to be prepared to be punished with rather serious fines. Furthermore, Montana law covers online gambling, which means that playing on offshore casino sites is definitely prohibited.
“Internet gambling”, by whatever name known, includes but is not limited to the conduct of any legal or illegal gambling enterprise through the use of communications technology that allows a person using money, paper checks, electronic checks, electronic transfers of money, credit cards, debit cards, or any other instrumentality to transmit to a computer information to assist in the placing of a bet or wager and corresponding information related to the display of the game, game outcomes, or other similar information.
Even though the current regulations are used to punish illegal gambling operators rather than individual players, there’s simply no denying the fact that individual players can be prosecuted for converting their computers or smartphones into electronic gambling devices, which is against Montana law. While no players have been prosecuted so far, playing online casino games in Montana definitely involves more risks than in any other state.
Online Casinos
Montana-based players have no regulated, intrastate sites to play on. Furthermore, playing on offshore sites is definitely illegal as long as you remain within the borders of the state. Nevertheless, most of the popular US-facing offshore casinos still accept Montana residents – and even though the bonuses they offer tend to be quite lucrative, there’s simply no denying the fact that playing on those sites might prove to be costly if the officials choose to start enforcing the law when dealing with individual online gamblers.
Offshore Casino Sites That Accept Montana Players
Most of the casino sites that still accept Montana players are powered by Real Time Gaming software, which means that they offer a wide range of games including real online slots, classic table games and virtual video poker machines.
Please note that aside from the legal obstacles, Montana residents have a hard time when it comes to depositing to offshore casino sites. Popular e-wallet services aren’t supported by those sites, so in the end Montana-based casino enthusiasts that decide to break the law have to rely on a credit card payment, which isn’t a 100% reliable method. Consequently, many of the transactions are simply blocked by the banks. While an attempt to fund an online casino account isn’t a punishable offense, it does waste your time and prevents you from using the card for gambling-related banking purposes in the future.
Developing Legal Scenarios
As you’d expect from a state with such a strict set of gambling regulations, Montana definitely isn’t very likely to legalize online casino gaming in the foreseeable future. The state has already passed clear laws that criminalize playing on online gambling sites, so any major adjustments would require a significant effort on the part of pro-i-gaming lawmakers, which ultimately doesn’t seem to be very likely in the current political climate.
