Why Is Online Poker Illegal In The Us
WSOP/888 US is currently the only poker site that shares online poker players between all three legal online poker states (NJ, Nevada & Delaware). One way or another, is poker illegal in UK? Legal Poker in the UK Poker can be provided legally in each of the following contexts: At a casino that has a licence, even if only for temporary use. Outside of states with online poker, most other US jurisdictions don’t have laws in place explicitly making online poker illegal. Indiana is an exception, as online gambling in the Hoosier State is expressly outlawed. State-regulated online sports betting sites operate legally in Indiana, but any kind of online gambling outside of those legal. At least in the United States, it harkens back to a law that states it’s not illegal to play online but it is illegal for the house to profit from the game. Essentially that means that friends can always get together and wager money against each other in a game of poker but if one of the friends charged an entrance fee, then that would be.
US gambling laws have undergone some revisions regarding how they are applied to online poker, changing the legal landscape in a positive way for poker fans.
Why Is Online Poker Illegal In The US?
Online poker, while widely popular and lucrative, resides in a complex legal maze that requires some finesse to navigate. In order to understand the nuances involved, it would help to have a good overview on US gambling laws. US based online poker was kept at bay for many years through the Federal Wire Act, which was interpreted to apply to any type of domestic online gambling entertainment. These circumstances gave rise to legally licensed offshore poker sites that accept US players. Revised interpretations regarding the application of the Federal Wire Act allows individual states the option of deciding whether or not they want to host regulated online poker, however very few have capitalized on this opportunity.
The heyday of online poker in the US was in the early 2000s when the technological advancements were paced far ahead of regulatory oversight. The US gambling market was ripe for investment, and numerous licensed offshore poker rooms set their sites on American poker players. This provided a large range of poker sites for US poker buffs to participate at. Things changed in 2006 when President George Bush signed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA).
The UIGEA bill prohibits financial institutions from progressing gambling related transactions via the Internet. This law forced many online poker providers to shut down their US-facing sites due to a blowup of USA friendly deposit methods. Some large companies like PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker continued to do business with American players as it took some time for the ramifications of the law to be implemented. In fact, the final regulations brought on by the UIGEA did not go into effect until late 2009. There were efforts to draft pro-poker legislation for some states, but not before the entire poker world was rocked on April 15, 2011.
On what would become known as Black Friday, the US Department of Justice issued indictments against financial institutions and online poker groups like PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker Absolute Poker. Charges included UIGEA violations, bank fraud, money laundering and illegal gambling. Bank accounts and domain names were seized as a result and the sites immediately stopped accepting US players. Each site continued to do business with other countries.
In the wake of Black Friday, the future of online poker seemed unclear. The DOJ issued a Formal Opinion that the Federal Wire Act only applied to sports betting, leaving the decision to host online casinos and poker up to each individual state. American players had online poker access through licensed offshore sites, but it was not until 2013 that the US saw US-based online poker emerge through Nevada, Delaware and New Jersey. Ultimate Poker and World Series Of Poker launched sites along with several other small companies. PokerStars made its US comeback in March 2016 through New Jersey and the state has been profiting off the regulated site ever since.
The UIGEA targets financial institutions, not individual players. While US-based online poker is illegal in most states, US players do have some legally sanctioned options available through legitimately licensed and regulated offshore destinations. It is likely that more states will push for regulated online poker, but it takes time for legislation to pass and be implemented. We anticipate more states will get on board with this type of gambling entertainment within the next few years.
The simple answer is: yes, online poker is legal.
It has a tumultuous history in the United States, but things are looking up. Four states, Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware all legalized poker and sites are up and running in each of those states. Others like Michigan and West Virginia legalized poker and are working on launching sites soon.
Several other states are in the process of legalizing it too. This is a big 180 from where poker was a decade ago.
In 2006, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act passed in the United States, making it illegal for U.S. banks to do business with online gaming sites. Some sites left, others stayed. Then in 2011 The Department of Justice seized the domains of major poker sites for charges that included bank fraud and money laundering.
After that, the game pretty much vanished from the United States until a federal judge ruled in 2012 that poker was a game of skill, not luck. This paved the way for Nevada to open up the first state-regulated poker site and several states followed.
The floodgates really opened up after the Supreme Court struck down a ban on sports betting, letting states regulate it as they see fit. Many states have taken the opportunity to address online poker along with sports betting.
Where can I play Poker in the United States?
That depends on where you are. There are several different poker sites out there, some serve the entire United States while others are specific to each state.
If you’re in Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware or Pennsylvania, you have access to a few extra state-specific sites. PokerStars is live in New Jersey and Pennsylvania and you can play WSOP Online in Nevada and Delaware. These sites have partnered up with local casinos to offer poker online and you have to be within state lines to play. New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware have share player pools though. That means players from all three states play against each other.
More states are legalizing poker, so this list will grow. We’ll keep it up to date as more sites launch in different states.
But a few sites accept players from all 50 states.
BetOnline, Bovada.lv,Ignition andAmerica’s Cardroom all accept players from any U.S. state. We’ve reviewed each of these sites in detail. So head on over to our reviews page to find out more about each one.
Didn’t the U.S. Ban Online Poker in 2006?
No.
A lot of sites did pull out of the United States after it passed though. The 2006 UIGEA made it illegal for banks and financial institutions to process payments linked to online gambling. The law was a little ambiguous though and there was nothing explicitly banning poker.
Some big sites, like Party Poker, pulled out of the United States, but other giants like PokerStars and Full Tilt stayed in the country. To process payouts for U.S. players, these sites had to break the law. Then, in April 2011, the Department of Justice seized the sites’ domain names and indicted a few key people on charges of money laundering, bank fraud and more.
Absolute Poker imploded, Full Tilt almost went bankrupt. PokerStars, on the other hand, paid the fine, bailed out Full Tilt and is now back in the United States.
New State Laws
After a federal judge ruled that poker was a game of skill, not chance, Nevada took the first step to legalize online poker. The state paved the way for others to do the same. Delaware followed and also legalized lottery and casino games. New Jersey did all of this on an even larger scale. The latest to join the group was Pennsylvania, which passed its law in 2017 and finally launched regulated poker in late 2019.
Michigan has passed legislation but won’t launch any sites until later 2021. West Virginia also legalized it and sites won’t be too far behind.
All these states have sites that are linked with land-based casinos. Several other casinos are developing sites too. We’ll see more develop as online sites keeps gaining popularity. The big question now is whether sites will share their player pools.
New Jersey, Delaware and Nevada have all signed up to share their player pool. Pennsylvania is the most populous state to legalize poker sites, but it has yet to join the pool. A joint pool would be critical to creating large tournaments, a wide selection of cash games and a healthy poker ecosystem.
State-by-State Laws
We here at USPokerSites have been keeping tabs on several different states. Our list isn’t complete, but if you want to find out more information on where each state is regarding poker legalization, just search and click below.
Alabama – Arizona – Arkansas – California – Colorado – Connecticut – Georgia – Idaho – Iowa – Kansas – Maine – Maryland – Massachusetts – Michigan – Minnesota – Mississippi – Montana – Nebraska – New Hampshire – New Mexico – North Carolina – North Dakota – Ohio – Oklahoma – Pennsylvania – Rhode Island – South Carolina – Tennessee – Vermont – West Virginia – Wyoming
What About Online Sportsbooks?
Why Is Online Poker Illegal
Online sportsbooks have also been gaining popularity recently. Is that because of poker? Well, not really.
Why Is Online Poker Illegal In The Us
In May 2018, New Jersey won a landmark Supreme Court that overturned a federal ban on sports betting. New Jersey quickly legalized online sports betting and other states quickly followed.
Many states are using the sports betting debate to reconsider other forms of online gaming, especially poker. So many states that are currently debating sports betting are also considering sports betting.
They don’t always go hand-in-hand, but they often do. Many sites that these days even offer both a sports book and a poker room.
So, is it Legal to Deposit on Poker Sites in the USA?
The answer is yes. The laws may be confusing, but we tried to break down the individual components of those laws. And as things change, we will update these pages with the most current information. You can check ourpoker reviews to learn about potential places to play.
Is Online Poker Illegal
If you’re ready to play poker, let’s get to it. We’ll see you at the tables!