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Gaming the Odds presents you with a guide to
US Online Poker
Updated: 18th of April 2012.
What's the situation with the legality of online poker in the US?
Is online poker legal on a federal level?
Yes. A recent clarification from the Department of
Justice regarding the Wire Act of 1961 finally made it clear that there are no federal laws prohibiting
online poker. Now states can proceed to regulating online poker within their respective boundaries.
This was a bit surprising as, for several years, the DOJ's position regarding the Wire Act was that it
covers all forms of gambling, and now they announce that it only covers sports betting. In 2002, the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals had already
contradicted the DOJ's stance on online poker. (www.reviewjournal.com.)
Is online poker legal in all states?
No. While most states don't have laws that clearly prohibit
(or allow, for that matter) playing poker online, some of them do. Here's a list of state laws
against online poker that I'm aware of. Playing online poker in the US is legal unless you live in
a state that forbids you from doing so since, as mentioned above, no federal laws make internet poker illegal.
(Contact your local gaming lawyer in order to make sure of the legality of online
poker in your state.)
Does the UIGEA make online poker illegal?
The false message that the UIGEA ("Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act") prohibits
online poker is common. In reality, the UIGEA was designed
to make life difficult for payment operators, not poker players:
- The UIGEA doesn't forbid players from sending money to/receiving money from poker sites.
- The UIGEA doesn't forbid players from making bets online.
- The UIGEA does prohibit online gambling businesses from accepting "illegal" transactions.
In fact, the UIGEA does nothing directly, since it's an enforcement act. Enforcement acts require
a violation of some other state/federal/tribal law to make something a crime. Since it's illegal
for online gambling businesses to accept "illegal" transactions, some other federal/state/tribal
law will have to define what "illegal" means. What could be an illegal transaction in one state
might not be illegal in other state. This is why some US online poker sites restrict
players from certain states, while others (that have interpreted the laws in a different way) don't.
Latest News and Updates |
18th of April 2012 |
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BetOnline Poker leaves Chico Poker network:
As you've been able to see on the US online poker rooms
page, I've had strong concerns of BetOnline Poker's reputation for a good while. (There's some backstory on the page that
I just linked to.)
Now, apparently, they have left the Chico Poker network without any warning and the poker room is down because of
"maintenance". I've not trusted this room since the beginning and in case you still have money at BetOnline Poker
and you're given a chance to get them withdrawed, I recommend doing it rightaway.
www.parttimepoker.com has the story.
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15th of April 2012 |
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Merge and Cake Poker stop accepting players from Utah:
More bad news for online poker players from Utah, since now only True Poker (on Winning Poker network)
accepts from the state of Utah.
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13th of April 2012 |
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Utah Governor opposes online gambling:
Apparently, the Governor of Utah, Gary Herbert, has sent a letter to two members of Congress that
opposes online gaming. (www.cardplayer.com.)
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11th of April 2012 |
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Washington state players now banned from Bovada:
After stopping players from Washington state (and three others) from signing-up at Bovada, the
site has now decided to ban all players from Washington state, so existing accounts aren't allowed
to play anymore either.
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10th of April 2012 |
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Alabama considers 'felony' for gambling-related crimes:
Alabama's new bill pushes for tougher penalties for gambling-related crimes, and would
turn some of them from a misdemeanor to a felony.
(www.cardplayer.com.)
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3rd of April 2012 |
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PPA rep. Rich Muny talks about federal legislation:
Pokerfuse posted an interview with Vice President of Player Relations at Poker Player Alliance, Rich Muny. They discuss federal
online poker legislation and how Senator Jon Kyl could help internet poker.
(www.pokerfuse.com.)
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1st of April 2012 |
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US players still unable to withdraw from Everleaf:
Everleaf Gaming network withdrawed itself from the US market in February, and the US
players still haven't been able to withdraw their money. Pokerfuse published a news story
which says that the Lotteries and Gaming Authority of Malta has worked with Everleaf Gaming
and addressing "non-compliances" in their operations. It remains to be seen whether
US players are ever going to get their money back. (www.pokerfuse.com.)
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29th of March 2012 |
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Is Delaware going to legalize internet poker?:
The latest state to study the possibility of legalizing internet poker is Delaware.
It'll be interesting to see how soon they'll start taking action.
(www.cardplayer.com.)
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28th of March 2012 |
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Nevada is going to start granting online poker licenses in June?:
CardPlayer posted a news article about Nevada handing out online poker licenses "likely in June".
Who knows, maybe we'll see legalized online poker in USA for the first time already in 2012?
(www.cardplayer.com.)
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27th of March 2012 |
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Elie and Campos accept deals in 'Black Friday' case:
Chad Elie and John Campos have accepted deals in the case concerning the 'Black Friday' charges.
Elie will have to go to prison for 6-12 months. (www.cardplayer.com.)
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23rd of March 2012 |
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Utah bans online gambling:
There's no doubt about the subject now: online gambling is illegal in Utah. The governor
signed the online gambling bill into law on Monday, and now you're guilty of a class B
misdemeanor in case you gamble online.
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21st of March 2012 |
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New Jersey online poker bill delayed for six weeks:
Just heard that New Jersey's latest online poker bill has been delayed for six weeks
so we'll hear more about the subject around May/June.
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17th of March 2012 |
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No online poker in Iowa after all:
The chances of online poker being legalized in Iowa were looking good until the bill
went to State House of Representatives. The bill died there and didn't even go to a vote,
so that's that for the Iowa online poker bill.
(www.pokernewsdaily.com).
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15th of March 2012 |
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Bovada.lv bans players from Maryland, no new registrations from three other states:
Players from Maryland get more bad news as they're now Bovada's first banned state. Additionally,
players from New York, Utah
and Washington State aren't allowed to register anymore.
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13th of March 2012 |
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No online poker in Mississippi anytime soon:
The last seven days have been relatively slow as far as US poker news go.
I wish it would have continued that way rather than hear that
the Mississippi Lawful Internet Gaming Act of 2012 died in Committee.
Let's hope for a better outcome with the other ones.
(www.cardplayer.com).
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7th of March 2012 |
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Ray Bitar apologizes for the Full Tilt situation:
We still haven't gotten anywhere near to getting our money back from Full Tilt,
but at least their CEO Ray Bitar has finally issued an apology to the online
poker world. The short interview can be found at
(www.pokerstrategy.com).
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2nd of March 2012 |
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ChiliPoker merges with Poker770, will re-open for the US:
ChiliGaming's 'Chili Poker' has merged with Poker770 (both are iPoker network skins).
What's truly interested here is that they're planning to open a poker site
for US players "in a matter of months".
(www.pokerfuse.com)
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1st of March 2012 |
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Iowa Rep. Dan Huseman doesn't believe in Iowa's online poker bill:
Even though Iowa's new online poker bill
passes Senate State Government Committee last week, Rep. Dan Huseman (R-Aurelia) doesn't see
the House passing the bill. (www.cardplayer.com)
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