Will Online Poker Become Legal In Us
The simple answer is: yes, online poker is legal.
While Party Poker certainly intends on returning to the United States one day, one of two things would need to transpire in order for this to happen: 1. There would need to be a change in US law that would allow for the licensing and regulation of online poker sites (most likely) 2. Party Poker would need to become a private company (less likely). Technically, you are correct - Poker Stars is operating in the USA. That said, the three states where it is legal to play on PS only account for 4% of the US population. The remaining 96% of USA. The 'father' of that law was Dennis Hastert and at the time quoted the 'great American values' to defend the exclusion of online poker in the US, now the values are different and Hastert is.
Online poker has a tumultuous history in the United States, but things are looking up. Four states, Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware all legalized online poker and sites are up and running in each of those states. Others like Michigan and West Virginia legalized online 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, online poker 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 online 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 Online 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 online poker 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 online 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.
Will Online Poker Become Legal In Usa
New State Laws Regarding Online Poker
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 online poker in late 2019.
Michigan has passed online poker legislation but won’t launch until late 2020 at the earliest. West Virginia also legalized online poker 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 online poker, 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?
Online sportsbooks have also been gaining popularity recently. Is that because of online poker? Well, not really.
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 an online poker room.
So, is it Legal to Deposit for Online Poker 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.
If you’re ready to play poker, let’s get to it. We’ll see you at the tables!
So will Senate Bill 3616 be the lifeline for online poker?And will Senator Robert Menendez from New Jersey be the one that saved it all?Senator Menendez introduced a bill now known as the “The Internet Skill Game Licensing and Control Act of 2008” to the senate this week and if passed it would regulate online poker in the United States. The bill not only pertains to poker but all skill games including the ever so popular mahjong.
Will Online Poker Become Legal In Illinois
If passed the bill would allow poker and other skill games to be regulated and taxed. According to John Pappas, Executive Director for the Poker Players Alliance, “This is really a bill that poker players could love.”
This is a bill the congress will take up next year which makes the upcoming elections just as important as ever for all you poker players.So be sure to study up on whose who with your elected officials.
Will online poker become legal in the US or will sites like Pureplay.com win out?For those of you who don’t know Pure Play have been around since 2005 and charge a membership fee so you can play online poker for prizes.Does anyone out there have any experiences with Pureplay.com?And if so be sure to include them in your comments.So the hot button question of today, will the US finally start to get back on track when it comes to our gambling freedoms or will sites Pureplay.com take over???? Notice I used the word start because casinos are not included in the new bill, but hey we have to start somewhere right? Have a great weekend and happy betting!!