Riverboat Gambling.

Americans have some funny laws, one I like is/was that gambling is/was legal on boats moving on the water. These days there are many exceptions to these strict gambling laws such as Reservations, Vegas, AC and moored barges.

But WI the only loophole in US gambling laws was that casinos were only legal on boats moving on the water? Would American waterways be clogged with riverboat casinos? Are there large parts of the US that people couldn't gamble due to a lack of a decent body of water to steam on?
 

HJ Tulp

Donor
Americans have some funny laws, one I like is/was that gambling is/was legal on boats moving on the water. These days there are many exceptions to these strict gambling laws such as Reservations, Vegas, AC and moored barges.

But WI the only loophole in US gambling laws was that casinos were only legal on boats moving on the water? Would American waterways be clogged with riverboat casinos? Are there large parts of the US that people couldn't gamble due to a lack of a decent body of water to steam on?


Hell, it could be profitable to dig a channel just to be able to put a boat on it :D
 
Americans have some funny laws, one I like is/was that gambling is/was legal on boats moving on the water. These days there are many exceptions to these strict gambling laws such as Reservations, Vegas, AC and moored barges.

But WI the only loophole in US gambling laws was that casinos were only legal on boats moving on the water? Would American waterways be clogged with riverboat casinos? Are there large parts of the US that people couldn't gamble due to a lack of a decent body of water to steam on?

A lot of states had some very restrictive anti-gambling laws. When the first allowances for gambling were passed, it was with explicitly stated provisions 'thus far and no further'. However, as was obvious to people at the time (like my wife), those promises ranged from outright lies to insubstantial tissue paper. (Sort of like a girl allowing her boyfriend to take her pants off 'but they're not going to have sex' - sure that works for the first time or two...)

So wierd restrictions were placed on gambling at first - only on riverboats on the river, or whatever.

So, State A has no gambling (or very restricted rules), then neighboring state B loosens the rules (like riverboats don't have to undock). Then gambling money flows to State B, and State A figures it has to loosen it's rules to compete.


So, no, the "get into my pants, but not have sex" gambling laws just aren't going to stay. The moment the door opens, there is so much pressure to "go the next step" that it will happen.
 
I don't see the appeal to it; the odds are they will lose, since that's how casinos stay in business. Still, they have better odds than the rigged-casino known as Wall Street.

Gambling's for the hopeful.
 

Raymann

Banned
But WI the only loophole in US gambling laws was that casinos were only legal on boats moving on the water?

Just to be clear, gambling laws are determined by the state.

I'm from Lake Charles, Louisiana and back when there were only two casinos there, both had two riverboats that went around the lake. Over time, they became docked most of the time and eventually, one casino sold it's riverboats and built a permanent barge over the war.

A few years later, they build the L'Auberge du Lac Casino and it was over land and the Sugercane Bay Casino they will be building will be over land also (my uncle actually got a major part of the construction contract for that one).

So basically, Louisiana keeps changing its laws because the casinos bring in a massive amount of money and they can keep taxes down. Plus Lake Charles and Shreveport are close to the Texas border where casinos are illegal

But to answer your question, it will depend on the state. Nothing will interfere with the Port of Lake Charles or the Port of South Louisiana, some of the largest ports in the US. Generally, any body of water deep enough to hold a riverboat is also deep enough for commercial barges to use, people would just have to use common sense depending on the area.
 
Top