• Is Online Poker For Money Legal In The Us
• Is Online Poker For Money Legal In The Us 2020

The legality of online poker in the United States varies according to your jurisdiction. Contrary to what some sources might have you believe, no federal law specifically forbids online poker. State laws, on the other hand, might or might not, depending on the state. Only one state (Washington) has a specific law explicitly forbidding online poker, while only Delaware, Nevada and New Jersey have legalized and regulated it.

Our goal is to provide the facts about where you can play poker online legally in the United States. You should know up front that our site isn't run by lawyers or anyone with any kind of governmental authority. If you need actual legal advice, you should contact an attorney. The information provided here is for educational and entertainment purposes only. We're not responsible for anything that happens based on your use of the information here.

That being said, the information here is accurate and reliable to the best of our knowledge.

The short answer is yes, online poker is legal in the United States on the individual level. It’s certainly not illegal federally, despite many misleading statements over the years from government officials and those in favor of online gambling prohibition. Is Online Poker Legal in Tennessee? Providing a clear-cut answer to this question of whether playing Internet poker for real money at poker websites in TN is legal can be tricky, if only because the state’s gambling and betting statues make no mention of computerized wagering or Internet poker. Is Online Poker Legal in the United States? Contrary to what many think, there is actually no federal law in the United States that strictly prohibits US players playing for real money online or making accounts to do so. However, for individual states where online poker is legal, that’s when things are slightly more complicated. You may be surprised to learn that, despite a confusing legal landscape, it is generally accepted that playing online poker is currently legal in the U.S., at least at the federal level. For this reason we feel a better way of approaching the issue is to look at when online poker will be regulated on a state by state basis.

Washington State

We thought it would be a good idea to get this out of the way right away. It is illegal to play poker online for money in the state of Washington.

The state of Washington passed a law in 2006 making online poker a felony. Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars responded by no longer offering services to residents of that state, but they continued to operate in the rest of the country. If you live in the state of Washington, it's a crime to play poker online for money. In fact, it's a serious crime. Our advice to poker players in Washington state is to not play poker on the Internet.

We don't know why the state of Washington has taken such a draconian stance against Internet poker, but if you live there, it's probably best not to play, even if you can find a site which would accept you as a player.

Games of Skill vs. Games of Chance

The amount of controversy surrounding whether or not it's legal to play poker on the Internet in the United States is strange, especially in light of the similarities between the game and the free market system, which is one of the cornerstones of the American way of life. Poker is even commonly called 'America's card game.' Expert players consider it a mind sport. Even the general public considers poker a sport; that's why it's the subject of televised events on ESPN, a TV channel that specializes in sports programming and reporting.

In August, 2012, Judge Jack B. Weinstein, a federal judge in Brooklyn, ruled that poker is predominantly a game of skill rather than chance. The reasoning is that the money doesn't flow to the luckiest players at the table, at least not in the long run. In the end, the most skilled players win the most money. The skills used in poker include reading other players, concealing your own intentions, and evaluating the odds that your hand is the best.

According to Judge Weinstein, 'The most skillful professionals earn the same celestial salaries as professional ballplayers.'

Of course, this doesn't mean that playing poker doesn't constitute gambling, at least not colloquially. What makes a game 'gambling' is the activity of betting money. Skill becomes a consideration from a legal standpoint, though. In many jurisdictions, contests of skill are treated dramatically different from games of pure chance.

You might be the best poker player in the world, but on any given hand, you face an element of risk. The same holds true for other bettors who use skill to get an edge. Blackjack card counters, expert video poker players, and skilled sports handicappers all sometimes lose.

The Interstate Wire Act of 1961

Does the Wire Act make online poker illegal?
The Interstate Wire Act of 1961, sometimes called 'the Federal Wire Act', was passed in September, 1961 in an attempt to thwart organized crime.

In 2005, the Justice Department sent threatening letters to Internet publishers and broadcasting companies, including Google, Yahoo, and Infinity Broadcasting. Their contention was that accepting advertising from companies involved in online gambling was 'aiding and abetting' illegal activities. They used the Interstate Wire Act as justification for this.

In December, 2011, The Justice Department reversed their position, stating that the Interstate Wire Act of 1961 only applies to sports betting, not to poker.

So the short answer, until the Supreme Court rules otherwise, is no, the Wire Act does not make online poker illegal.

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006

Does UIGEA make online poker illegal?
The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA) was passed as part of the Safe Ports act. The law made it a federal crime to accept payments connected with illegal Internet gambling. It did not define 'illegal Internet gambling', and since the Wire Act only applied to sports betting, no federal law makes it illegal to play poker on the Internet for money.

So the short answer again is no, UIGEA does not make online poker illegal unless state laws make it illegal (which they seem to do in the vast majority of the states).

As a practical matter, though, UIGEA has made life harder for online rounders. Some companies, including Pacific Poker, Paradise Poker, and Party Poker, stopped accepting real money players from the United States. Other companies, including Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars, and the Cereus Poker network, continued to accept players from the United States. Eventually, even those companies had to capitulate to the prevailing anti-gambling sentiment from the current U.S. governmental regime.

Black Friday

Did the events of Black Friday make online poker illegal?
In 2011, an estimated 2 million Americans played online poker for money on a regular basis. On Friday, April 15, 2011, The Justice Department eliminated most of this play when it shut down the three most trafficked poker sites (Pokerstars, Full Tilt Poker, and the Cereus Network) with charges of money laundering and fraud. The US government contended that the companies had violated UIGEA, but the poker companies operated under the understanding that online poker wasn't illegal and therefore didn't constitute a violation of the act.

The Department of Justice not only seized control of the websites for the three companies, they also froze the assets in 76 bank accounts in 14 countries. Both civil and criminal charges were filed. In July, 2012, the U.S. government dismissed 'with prejudice' the civil complaints, but not the criminal indictments. PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker settled without admitting wrongdoing. As part of the settlement, PokerStars bought Full Tilt Poker.

No, the events of Black Friday didn't make online poker illegal, but they had a chilling effect on the actual play. The industry still hasn't recovered, but there are reasons to be optimistic.

The Poker Player's Alliance

The Poker Player's Alliance (PPA) was founded in Washington D.C. in 2005 as a non-profit political advocacy group to protect the rights of poker players in the US. Their goals include overturning UIGEA and passing legislation legalizing and regulating poker on the Internet. From their about us page, their mission is as follows: 'The PPA's mission is to establish favorable laws that provide poker players with a secure, safe and regulated place to play.'

Multiple bills have been proposed in Congress to amend UIGEA with an exception for online poker and other skill games but none have passed. We encourage the civic-minded members of our readership to visit their site, consider donating, or use their other resources to write to the lawmakers who represent them in the government. If it is the will of the people, safe and regulated online poker can become a reality sooner rather than later.

Delaware, Nevada, and New Jersey

Three states, Delaware, Nevada, and New Jersey, have passed laws explicitly legalizing and regulating online gambling.

Delaware taxes the first $3.75 million of online gambling revenue in a year at 100%, which means that casinos need to generate a tremendous amount of activity to earn any money from online gambling activities. To legally gamble online in Delaware, a player must be of gambling age and operate their computer (or smartphone/table) within the state. The online poker market there is correspondingly small as a result, but state officials are confident that revenues from online gambling will grow as it catches on there.

Nevada has legalized online poker for two sites: UltimatePoker.com and WSOP.com. These two sites have exclusive rights to run online gambling in the state. As in Delaware, players must be of legal gambling age and operate their computer within the state. Nevada taxes online gambling revenues at the same rate (6.75%) as all other gaming revenue.

Is Online Poker For Money Legal In The Us

Websites offering online gambling in New Jersey are required to have a relationship with a physical casino within the state. They tax this revenue at 15% (compared to the 8% they tax their physical casinos). All gambling activities, including poker, are legal within this context, but revenues have been lower than expected. This disappointment is, at least in part, a result of credit card companies' lack of cooperation in processing these transactions.

These are not the only states where it's legal to play poker. They're just the only states to have laws on the books specifically legalizing the activity and regulating it. In the United States, an activity is legal unless a law prohibits it, so the lack of laws on the books in some states does not equate to the committing of a crime. At least nine other states have proposals to legalize and regulate poker on the Internet.

Can You Legally Play Poker for Money on the Internet in the US?

State laws vary. If you live in the state of Washington, playing poker online for money is a felony. In most cases, general state gambling laws make online poker illegal as well. To our knowledge, no one in the United States has been indicted or convicted of a crime related to playing online poker for money so far. This, of course, might change in the blink of an eye. We recommend that you only participate in online poker if it's legal where you live.

A very frequently asked question I get from US based PokerJuicers is: Where can you legally play online poker in the US?

Ever since Black Friday this has also been quite blurry to me so I decided to take a closer look into this. Initial research made it clear that this was not an easily answered question. So I reached out to PokerUpdate.com, who seemed to have made some interesting industry and market analysis on this very topic, and they have assisted me in answering this question.

Status right now is that there is a myriad of online poker rooms operating in a grey area and it is not quite simple to find out which sites are credible, regulated and fully licensed. But fortunately there are indeed several states that allow players to legally play online poker games including Omaha.

The truth is that there is no federal law prohibiting poker players in the US from playing real money poker games online. However state law varies and it is important to stay abreast of the latest legal online poker regulations in order to safeguard your personal information and your payouts. Presently, the majority of states in the US do not explicitly allow for legal online poker gaming. There are, however, several states that are clear about where they stand – either pro or against online poker gaming.

Several states have not made definitive decisions regarding their approach to online poker. Legal online poker in the US is split between proponents and opponents of online gaming, but the difference with poker is that it is perceived as a skill-based game.

As such, it warrants careful attention among gaming enthusiasts. Remember that there are no federal statutes prohibiting players from enjoying online poker games in the US. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) actually covers payments processing issues and not online poker gaming. This is an important point since many online poker players mistakenly believe that legal online poker in the US is a fallacy. For the most part, states across the union consider online poker to be a grey area.

Which States Currently Allow Legal Real Money Online Poker?

Presently, Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware are the only states that allow fully regulated online poker gaming for US online poker players. In fact, anyone of legal age and resident in these states is allowed to play online poker games at the best US regulated poker sites. Some of the most popular online poker rooms include Borgata (Party/Borgata) and Caesars (888/WSOP). These poker rooms dominate the scene in New Jersey, with Borgata accounting for close to 55% of market share as of October 2015 and Caesars accounting for approximately 45% of market share as at October 2015. New Jersey is by far the biggest online poker market in the US at this time, owing to a massive player base and a keen interest in the game. New Jersey players get to enjoy a large multi-table tournament series, much higher rake caps, weekday major tournaments, freeze-outs, and the like.

The most popular online poker room in Nevada is WSOP.com – the online poker room of the prestigious World Series of Poker. The state of Delaware legalized online poker in the summer of 2012, at the same time as it legalized online gambling. Bill HB 333, the Delaware Gambling Competitiveness Act of 2012 was introduced and it was ratified on 28 June 2012. The premier online poker provider for Delaware is 888 – a single operator poker platform. A full spread of online poker games is available to players in Delaware, and the market is steadily growing to accommodate more players by way of mobile poker innovations and enhanced marketing and advertising initiatives. Recall that banking options have typically been an issue with online poker and online casino operators. However, in Delaware it’s possible to make credit card deposits with MasterCard and Visa, as well ACH withdrawals. The other alternative available to players is the live cash deposit option. There are currently interstate gaming compacts in effect between various states to enhance the player pool and the prize pool.

Which States are Currently Thinking of Legalizing Online Poker?

According to PokerUpdatethere are several states considering legalizing online poker, including Illinois, Pennsylvania and California. The passage to legislation in Illinois has been fraught with difficulty, however new gambling bills continue to make their way to the legislature. In California, various poker bills have been introduced including AB 9, AB 167 and AB 431. In the Golden State, there has to be unanimous agreement among the Native American tribes vis-a-vis poker regulation. In Pennsylvania, an online poker bill – HB 649 recently made its way onto the House floor and the House Gaming Oversight Committee approved the measure by a margin of 18 – 8. Once it passes the Pennsylvania House it will move on to the Senate and the Governor will have the ability to sign it into law.

Let me know what you think about this post and feel free to give some insight and/or add your comments below!

Is Online Poker For Money Legal In The Us 2020

Cheers
Nikolaj