Is Online Poker Illegal In Us

• Is Online Poker Illegal In The United States
• Is Online Poker Illegal In Us Dollars
• Is Online Poker Legal In Usa Virginia
• Is Online Poker Legal In Us
• Is Online Poker Illegal In Us Now

A: As of the end of 2015, three states - Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware - currently offer legal online poker to its residents, as well as visitors to the state. Nevada was the first to offer legal online poker, with New Jersey and Delaware following in later months and years. Also, if you are planning to operate an online gambling site, stay outside of the United States. You must also deal only with casino and poker wagers (not sports bets) from people in the US. And you cannot take bets over the phone from people in the United States. Accepting online gambling advertising is also illegal. Online Poker Legislation in the US. There is a significant amount of confusion about whether online poker in the US is legal or not. This confusion has not been helped by some sites referring to offshore poker sites as 'illegal', when in fact they are regulated and licensed – only not by authorities in the USA.

When it comes to gambling in the United States, the federal government has no laws on the books that address the question. Indeed, the federal government has adopted a permissive stance that places responsibility for banning or expanding gambling opportunities within the jurisdiction of each individual state. That being said however, Washington D.C. has moved forward over the years with the passage of various gambling legislation that does have a dramatic impact on different aspects of the gaming public.

Typically, when legislation has been passed limiting aspects of the gambling landscape, at the federal level, the mere act of gambling has rarely been the impetus for the bill in question. Rather, the emergence of perceived threats ranging from organized crime to terroristic threats has galvanized a public response at the federal level.

Examining this patch quilt approach to federal lawmaking over the past half century, we can stitch together a larger picture of how these various pieces of legislation affects the growth of gambling opportunities in all the 50 states today.

State Laws Reviewed

Recognizing a Rising Threat: Organized Crime

The opening salvo against organized gambling in the United Sates began in the 1950s. For decades, the nation's top policeman, F.B.I. Director J. Edgar Hoover, consistently ignored and dismissed the evident signs of its existence owing to his focus on leftwing threats to the country from socialists and communist agitators.

In 1957 however, events pierced his veil of denial in such a way that Hoover was forced to focus the investigative talents of his agency on the threat. In November of that year, reputed mob boss, Joseph 'Joe the Barber' Barbara hosted a summit meeting of a hundred top Mafioso leaders in the United States, Italy, and Cuba.

On the menu for discussion was organized loan sharking, narcotics, and gambling activities and how each of the Five Families would divide up territory and the profits of the illicit activity. When local police officers noticed the parade of expensive cars arriving in the sleepy hamlet of Apalachin, New York, they became suspicious and raided the property when the meeting was in progress causing the attendees to flee into the surrounding woods.

The raid nabbed up more than sixty mobsters and destroyed the fiction that there was no organized crime in the United States. Within three years, federal legislation was passed, in the opening days of the Kennedy Administration, to fight back and disrupt the profitability of the mob's illegal gambling operation. This opening salvo, the Interstate Wire Act, passed in 1961.

The 1961 Interstate Wire Act

The intent of the legislation is illuminated in the long title of the law, which called for 'amending Chapter 50 of Title 18 of the United States Legal Code with respect to the transmission of bets, wagers, and related information.'

At the time, mafia families across the nation were generating significant income by placing bets over the telephone (the wire) to Las Vegas, which at the time proved the only legal outlet in the country to place legal sports bets. Since the bulk of sports betting tool place over the phone, it made sense for federal authorities to target the phone use that allows for their illegal activity.

As such, the goal of the law was to make the transmission of bets and related information a crime. Viewed as an arrow in the government's quiver to fight organized crime, the measure has no bearing on the legality or morality of gambling itself, nor is its intent to stop Americans from gambling. Unfortunately, it does serve to restrict access to Americans looking to place a sports bet in the United States.

The interpretation of the 51-year old legislation has not been static owing to emerging technologies, the Internet, and the wording of the law itself. Specifically, it is difficult to parse through the language to determine what wagers are allowed and which are prohibited. Additionally, when the Interstate Wire Act passed, the Internet was still decades away, so justice officials have wrestled with how to apply the act to online gambling.

Under Department of Justice review in the 2000s, the department clarified the government's position. In a 2011 review, the DoJ noted, 'interstate transmissions of wire communications that do not relate to a 'sporting event or contest' fall outside the reach of the Wire Act.' This ruling is great news for the legions of online gamblers and poker players hoping to access the Internet for gambling opportunities that do not involve sporting events.

Illegal Gambling Business Act of 1970

In the wake of the success of the 1961 Interstate Wire Act, the United States Congress followed up with the Illegal Gambling Business Act of 1970. Unlike the former however, the Gambling Business Act is designed to shore up the individual state's efforts in their own battles against illegal syndicated gambling.

Those convicted under the measure are subject to penalties of not more than five years, and fines of upwards of $250,000. Additionally, federal law enforcement agencies are empowered to confiscate any money or property used in the commission of the gambling offence. Again, like the Interstate Wire Act before it, the Illegal Gambling Business Act aims at the organized crime profiting from illegal gamblers rather than the casual player.

Perhaps the biggest hurdle the legislation holds for players today is how it relates to online gambling options. Again, while not targeted against individual players, the law does have a cooling effect on state leaders looking to expand their gambling options through online casino and poker play within their jurisdictions.

The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act

Gambling formed the social and cultural life of Native Americans for millenniums before the settlement of European pioneers. Faced with limited economic opportunities and community dislocation, tribal groups began lobbying for the ability to establish casino style facilities designed to bring revenue into the tribe's coffers. The resultant legislation emerged in 1988 with passage of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. Borrowing on their unique status as Sovereign nation, tribes in California and Florida opened gaming facilities that circumvented strict state laws regarding gambling.

For regulatory purposes, the federal government recognizes three separate classes of Indian gaming:

Class I—gaming is associated with tribal celebrations and ceremonial events such as pow wows and Potlatches. In terms of regulatory efforts, federal authorities do not pay much attention to these games.
Class II—games include bingo, poker, and lottery-style pull-tabs. Class II games are frequently used and offered for charitable purposes.
Class III—are the true revenue generators for casinos featuring games that rival the excitement of such gambling Mecca like Atlantic City and Las Vegas. These casino games include a myriad of options including roulette, slot machines, horse racing, blackjack, baccarat, and live poker.

In terms of jump-starting the gambling craze that has overtaken the nation, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act is critical to opening the floodgates to authorize gambling venues. Indeed, the growth of Native American casinos inspired states to tear a page from the Indian's playbook with statewide lotteries. Today, 44 states host regulated, Indian casinos within their jurisdictions.

Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act

As mentioned, the Interstate Wire Act aimed its regulatory ire at the method sports betters used when placing their bets namely, the telephone. While written to combat organized criminal gangs, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act sought to eliminate sports betting across the nation. The legislative brainchild of then Senator Bill Bradley, a former professional basketball player himself, the act was in response to a wide-ranging investigation into game fixing at the college and professional level. In short, the senator believed that gambling was having a negative effect on the performance and integrity of sports competition in the country.

The core of the legislation blocks state governments from allowing wagering on professional or college sports teams. Specifically, 'It shall be unlawful for any governmental entity to sponsor, operate, advertise, or promote gambling on one or more competitive games in which amateur or professional athletes participate.'

The door on sports wagering was not completely closed however, because four states were grandfathered in to avoid the restrictions under the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. Each of those states, Oregon, Nevada, Delaware, and Montana, all had previous legislation authorizing regulated sports betting. New Jersey was offered the chance to provide authorizing legislation within a year of passage of the federal act, but they failed to legislatively act in time.

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (300)

No single piece of federal gambling legislation influences individual players than the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). Conservative lawmakers slipped the UGIEA into a larger omnibus national defense bill. The SAFE Ports Act, a measure they knew would pass, was signed by then-President George W. Bush in 2006.

The intent of the legislation was clear; the design was to curb online gambling by making it illegal for financial groups and banks to process money that derived from gambling activity. The belief behind the measure was that if you could turn the tap off the funds, players and operators would have no reason to continue gambling.

Under the language of the law, 'prohibits gambling businesses from knowingly accepting payments in connection with the participation of another person in a bet or wager that involves the use of the Internet, and that is unlawful under any federal or state law.'

While many people believe that the measure makes online gambling and poker play illegal that misconception is incorrect. What the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act does is makes it harder to send or receive money for their gambling activity at known gambling sites.

Owing to serious loopholes, the UIGEA is problematic. While some of the biggest names in the online gambling business withdrew from the American market, United States-based players can easily access smaller players based offshore with U.S. facing websites.

Players can access these sites under the UIGEA with no worries that they will be implicated in illegal gambling activities. The law focuses on the banks and credit card providers facilitating the payment of bets and winnings. To get around that, American players often send payments via such companies as Western Union and MoneyGram, and receive their winnings in the same fashion.

In April 2011, federal officials moved forward with indictments against the biggest players in the online gambling industry with indictments handed down to the operators of PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker. Investigators found evidence implicating these companies of attempting to skirt UIGEA strictures by enlisting third-party payment processors.

Black Friday and the Changing Poker Landscape

The unsealing of the indictments also mark what poker aficionados call Black Friday. Not only did the charges show that large online operations were in violation of the UIGEA, but they were also accused of money laundering and accounting fraud. The government moved forward to seize property and accounts of the indicted who were looking at serious jail time and fines for their transgressions.

The effect on online gambling was chilling in the United States. As major platforms pulled out of the American market, American players were forced to scramble to find willing offshore platforms they could access for their online play.

Six years following the Black Friday, the U.S online poker market is still in flux. Three states, Nevada, Delaware, and New Jersey have all passed online gambling regulation and a host of other states is vying to join those states in offering online play for their residents.

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.

Washington State

Is Online Poker Illegal In The United States

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 door on sports wagering was not completely closed however, because four states were grandfathered in to avoid the restrictions under the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. Each of those states, Oregon, Nevada, Delaware, and Montana, all had previous legislation authorizing regulated sports betting. New Jersey was offered the chance to provide authorizing legislation within a year of passage of the federal act, but they failed to legislatively act in time.

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (300)

No single piece of federal gambling legislation influences individual players than the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). Conservative lawmakers slipped the UGIEA into a larger omnibus national defense bill. The SAFE Ports Act, a measure they knew would pass, was signed by then-President George W. Bush in 2006.

The intent of the legislation was clear; the design was to curb online gambling by making it illegal for financial groups and banks to process money that derived from gambling activity. The belief behind the measure was that if you could turn the tap off the funds, players and operators would have no reason to continue gambling.

Under the language of the law, 'prohibits gambling businesses from knowingly accepting payments in connection with the participation of another person in a bet or wager that involves the use of the Internet, and that is unlawful under any federal or state law.'

While many people believe that the measure makes online gambling and poker play illegal that misconception is incorrect. What the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act does is makes it harder to send or receive money for their gambling activity at known gambling sites.

Owing to serious loopholes, the UIGEA is problematic. While some of the biggest names in the online gambling business withdrew from the American market, United States-based players can easily access smaller players based offshore with U.S. facing websites.

Players can access these sites under the UIGEA with no worries that they will be implicated in illegal gambling activities. The law focuses on the banks and credit card providers facilitating the payment of bets and winnings. To get around that, American players often send payments via such companies as Western Union and MoneyGram, and receive their winnings in the same fashion.

In April 2011, federal officials moved forward with indictments against the biggest players in the online gambling industry with indictments handed down to the operators of PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker. Investigators found evidence implicating these companies of attempting to skirt UIGEA strictures by enlisting third-party payment processors.

Black Friday and the Changing Poker Landscape

The unsealing of the indictments also mark what poker aficionados call Black Friday. Not only did the charges show that large online operations were in violation of the UIGEA, but they were also accused of money laundering and accounting fraud. The government moved forward to seize property and accounts of the indicted who were looking at serious jail time and fines for their transgressions.

The effect on online gambling was chilling in the United States. As major platforms pulled out of the American market, American players were forced to scramble to find willing offshore platforms they could access for their online play.

Six years following the Black Friday, the U.S online poker market is still in flux. Three states, Nevada, Delaware, and New Jersey have all passed online gambling regulation and a host of other states is vying to join those states in offering online play for their residents.

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.

Washington State

Is Online Poker Illegal In The United States

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

Is Online Poker Illegal In Us Dollars

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.

Is Online Poker Legal In Usa Virginia

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.

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.

Is Online Poker Legal In Us

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

Is Online Poker Illegal In Us Now

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.