Why Is Online Poker Illegal In The Us
Online gaming today is more fast-paced than ever before for U.S players. And we are not just talking about the fact that Internet speeds are faster, and more accessibility is there than ever before. We are also talking about the fact that more and more states are jumping on the notion of legal online poker in United States. Currently, online poker can be played legally by all 50 states in some form at various websites, and it's important for players to understand the options that are out there for them.
- Why Is Online Poker Illegal In The Us
- Why Is Online Poker Illegal In The Us Citizens
- Is Playing Poker Illegal
- Why Is Online Poker Illegal In The Us States
We do our best to talk about the topic of playing online poker legally in the U.S., and educating our readers about the process to do so. The good news is that with online gaming in general perceived as being a much more legitimate practice, the choices are better and better in this competitive industry. Find out where and how U.S. players can participate in legal online poker games in the United States, including specific sites where Americans can sign up for an account.
Online poker is NOT illegal in the United States as a whole. There are a small number of states that have made the game against the law, like Washington State, but even in these jurisdictions, the anti-poker statutes are never enforced against ordinary players. 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. Also ensure that you have Why Is Online Poker Illegal In The Us checked the terms and conditions of a given bonus well in advance. Provided you meet a casino’s requirements regarding a particular bonus, Why Is Online Poker Illegal In The Us you could benefit from extra casino cash, free spins as well as an opportunity to win even bigger prizes.
Where Can I Play Online Poker In The United States?
Think online poker can't be done but only in a few states where it's starting to be regulated by the states? Think again. Despite the fact that a very public downfall of American poker sites may lead people to think that it is in some way illegal, actually playing online poker is not illegal. The proof is in the pudding, or in this case, the law itself. The law is on the side of the poker player, which allows Americans to get in on a great deal of online poker action.
Speaking generally, U.S. players have a choice when it comes to selecting an online poker site that will allow them to play poker for real-money. It's just as if you were sitting in a live poker room in Las Vegas, or in one that is licensed in your state, only the experience here is virtual, and you can play from your computer with the downloaded software.
BetOnline Poker Room
BetOnline Poker offers players some of the best games of poker they've ever had, and gain a poker deposit bonus of 100% up to $500 while enjoying themselves. BetOnline puts the same high quality into their poker room as they do into all of their other sections, so you know you are getting nothing but the best.
BetOnline offers sit and go tournaments on on a daily basis and large cash tournaments frequently as well, which always result in large cash prizes for the big winners. Visit BetOnline Poker
SportsBetting Poker
A variety of great guaranteed poker tournaments awaits any player choosing to go with SportsBetting.ag. This poker room creates fields where tournament prizes are in the thousands of dollars. They say right on site that there is $150,000 in guaranteed money that is won by players every month.
SportsBetting.ag tournaments are some of the best you will find, and trust us we know from experience with playing many different poker sites and reviewing many others as well. But it goes the same with great cash games as well. SportsBetting.ag has a variety of different cash games to get in on, for a bunch of different amount at tables. Visit SportsBetting Poker
| Legal U.S. Poker Rooms | U.S.A. + States | Deposit Promotions | Full REVIEW | PLAY NOW |
| BetOnline Poker | Yes - 50 States | 15% to 25% / $900 Each | ||
| SportsBetting Poker | Yes - 50 States | Up To 25% Each Deposit | ||
| 5Dimes Poker | Yes - 50 States | No Bonuses For Poker |
Are Online Poker Sites Legal In The USA?
Offshore poker sites where the base of operation is not in the United States are legal for American players. Furthermore, more states are forming legislation allowing legalized online poker to be regulated. This includes states like Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware. It also appears that more states are leading toward poker regulation on the Internet in the future as well.
Online gambling laws in the United States are interesting though, especially at the federal level. Most of them actually pertain to sports betting only, but online poker site operation is covered. The one thing about the legislation is that at the state level things seem to be changing rapidly.
U.S.A. Online Poker Laws
The main law at the federal level concerning online poker is the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006. This law doesn't expressly forbid the playing of Internet poker though as it merely encompasses what the operation of such a site entails. It's actually quite interesting, and leaves open the possibility for players to participate in online poker still, especially if you play online poker for free. For more information on this law and others affecting online poker, please visit our page about online poker laws in the U.S.
Age To Play Online Poker - Know Your Local Age To Gamble
State laws come into play a lot in terms of online poker, but no more so than with the legal age. The gambling age is not a federal law, it's a state law. There is not one consistent gambling age, though it is either 18 or 21. But what we mean is that different states will have a different age, so it's important to know how old you have to be.
Depositing Into Online Poker Sites - UIGEA of 2006
The ways in which American players are able to legally deposit into online poker sites can be affected by the UIGEA. This is because financial institutions are required to block any transactions sent to an offshore business for the purpose of gambling, or in this case, online poker games. This doesn't always happen, but fortunately, online poker sites will have several ways in which a deposit can be made.
Why You Should Stick With The Sites We Recommend:
One quick Internet search about online poker sites that have Texas Hold 'em + other games, and you will be given a great many of them at your disposal. But not all poker rooms are created equal. We know that there are some to be trusted, and some that aren't.
These sites we list on here for you, we can vouch for. Some of the other sites that you might find could be just fine, but we can say for sure the sites we've reviewed exhibit everything that we look for when assessing a quality poker room. So check them out, and see if they're right for you.
Are you looking for the best US legal online poker sites or a real money poker app? If the answer is yes, then you came to the right place. This is one of our many online poker reviews where you can find more about the best online poker options.
Without further ado, keep reading to discover how to play the best online poker for money and how to form an online poker strategy. So, let’s get started!
Contents
Best Legal Online Poker Sites
- WSOP
- PartyPoker
- PokerStars
- Pala Poker
- 888poker
- Global Poker
Why Is Online Poker Illegal In The Us
Is online poker legal? It's not always the same as legal online casinos and legal online sportsbooks. All new players who decide to explore the vast universe of real money poker sites should know that federally, online poker sites are illegal. However, on the individual level, online poker is legal in some of the states.
Some websites such as Global Poker (which is a sweepstakes poker site) are allowed in 49 out of 50 US states. Only Washington does not allow it. At the moment of writing our online poker reviews, only four states offer legal online poker websites in the United States. These are the following: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware.
For more information about some of the available sites, make sure to consult our Global Poker review.
US Legal Online Poker: State by State
Is online poker legal in your state? If the answer is no, keep in mind that the situation can change pretty quickly. Unsurprisingly, Nevada was the leader of regulated online poker. Once the ice was broken, the domino-effect followed.
One by one, many states tried or are still trying to pass the legislation. As you can see, some of them even succeeded. The last one to recently pass online poker is West Virginia, and we expect more legal US poker sites to be launched in the future.
When it comes to future predictions, we believe that chances are pretty good for some of the states to overcome all the legal obstacles and finally launch real money poker sites so their residents become able to play legal online poker.
Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio, New York are some of the states that’ll probably make some innovations when it comes to the possibilities of playing poker online. These are the states that have active supporters of online poker in the state senate.
What’s more, regulated real money poker sites in neighboring states can only have a positive effect on public opinion. Additionally, within the borders of the aforementioned states, you can find a considerable number of land-based casinos.
Many of them come with the best online poker rooms where you can play various variants of poker, including the most popular one - Texas Hold’em. In other words, these poker offline options make it easier to launch legal poker sites and eventually start to offer legal online poker.
States Where Legal Online Poker Seems Like a Distant Dream
From this point of view, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah are just some of the states where we can see a certain legislative hostility towards online gambling. Therefore, we don’t believe that we won’t be able to play Texas Hold’em online there for quite some time.
Sweepstakes Legal Online Poker - Play Poker Free No Matter Which State You’re In
As said before, Global Poker, a sweepstakes legal online poker site, can be accessed in all US states except for the state of Washington. This legal online poker platform was launched in 2106, and since then, many players use its services. The virtual currency gaming business model is what makes it unique.
Instead of playing for real money, players play poker free, using gold coins or sweeps cash. That’s why Global Poker often appears when players search for “play poker free” or “play poker online, free”.
To understand how sweepstakes poker works, let’s start with some poker basics and make sure to understand sweeps poker terminology clearly. There’s a difference between gold coins and sweeps cash, and there’s a reason for which “play poker online, free” is actually a bit of a misnomer here.
Gold Coins are the name for the virtual currency in Global Poker, and they are equivalent to what regular legal online poker sites usually call “play money”. In other words, you can’t cash them out, but you can use them to play Texas Hold’em online or participate in some of the available tournaments with other players. On the other hand, “$weeps cash” is a promotional, virtual currency that can be cashed out through PayPal.
To sum up, you can buy gold coins that don’t have any monetary value and can’t be cashed out. “$weeps cash” is obtained as free of charge once you buy Gold Coins. Because of this virtual currency online poker model, Global Poker is not quite considered an online gambling activity. Therefore, it’s allowed in almost all of the US.
Where Can I Play Legal Online Poker in the US?
Pennsylvania is the last state where online poker had become legal when PokerStars was launched there at the end of 2019. Right now that’s also the only available option to play online poker for money in Pennsylvania.
If we don’t count Global Poker, which can be accessed in 49 states, all the other legal online poker sites come with pretty restricted access. For example, Pala Poker and PartyPoker are only available in the state of New Jersey.
However, they are not the only NJ poker sites one can access. WSOP, America's top legal online poker site, is available in the Garden State, and it’s also accessible to all Nevada online poker fans as well. Likewise, PokerStars NJ, available both independently and within the FOX Bet app
Claim the WSOP promo code in New Jersey and Nevada to get a $1,000 signup bonus!Where Can I Play Poker Live?
Most of the land-based casinos across different states include special poker rooms where you can play live poker. Playing Texas Hold’em online is definitely the most popular option. After all, poker is an American thing, so it’s no wonder to see it available in the vast majority of mortar and bricks casinos.
In fact, instead of listing all the states where you can sit back, relax and try out your luck with live poker, it’s better to list all those where you can’t play poker online. It’ll be easier to remember this list:
- Alaska
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- New Hampshire
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
We must add that in Texas, private poker clubs aren’t forbidden. As long as no house makes a profit from the game, poker can be played in private places for fun.
US Online Poker Basics
When talking about the current status of legal US poker sites, there are two especially important laws that you should be aware of. Let’s take a look at these two federal laws that govern online poker in the country.
The Wire Act
The first one is the Interstate Wire Act of 1961, often called the Federal Wire Act. As you can see, it passed long before online poker or even the internet existed. However, it prohibits certain types of betting businesses to operate via wired communications.
In 2011, the US Department of Justice concluded that the scope of the act was limited to sporting events. Therefore, states, where online poker is now regulated, found that the bill didn’t apply to online poker nor other forms of gambling.
However, in 2019, the US Department of Justice reversed its opinion. The new opinion concludes that the Wire Act applies to all types of online gambling.
The UIGEA
Why Is Online Poker Illegal In The Us Citizens
The other relevant law is the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) from 2006. This law made it illegal for US banks to proceed with transactions for offshore gambling companies. That’s how they were pushed out of the market.
History of US Legal Online Poker
Online casinos started to appear back in 1994. They were usually situated in Antigua or the Isle of Man. However, the vast majority of their users were US-based customers. Two years later, in 1996, online gambling was also brought to the North American market soil.
The Kahnawake Gaming Commission was established just outside Montreal. They started issuing licenses, and pretty soon, it was possible to find hundreds of new online gambling websites.
Once again, two years later and again in Canada, the first-ever poker online website saw the light of day. Planet Poker was the favorite source of fun to thousands of Americans who were spending endless hours playing the first real-money online Texas Hold’em.
Over the next few years, thanks to technological advances, better online poker software was developed, while the number of websites kept increasing. These online poker operators also started to offer various tournaments and cash games and got a solid fan base all over the world.
The Industry Kept Growing & Then It Collapsed
Even though there were different interpretations of the law, especially of the famous Wire Act, the newly developed industry kept growing.
The year 2003 is especially important in the evolution of online poker. Using an account from Tennessee, Chris Moneymaker won the World Series of Poker after participating in the event through an online satellite. In Chris Moneymaker's case, we guess, it's okay to say that name determines destiny.
This online poker strategy was live-streamed on ESPN. Suddenly, the whole nation knew about Chris's story. A good number of Americans were hoping to be the next. All of a sudden, poker was everywhere on TV. Live games were followed carefully, and commercial breaks had one purpose: promoting online poker for money and playing Texas Hold 'em online.
Is Playing Poker Illegal
The great number of promoted sites were, in fact, offshore online poker sites. A lot of them disappeared from American browsers after Congress passed the above-mentioned UIGEA in 2006.
However, even though a lot of sites weren't accessible anymore, online poker couldn't be erased that easily. Some of the offshore gambling companies had found a way around the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006, but not for long.
In 2011, some of the largest online poker operators, including PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker/Ultimate Bet, were accused of violating UIGEA and money laundering. These websites were definitely excluded from the significant US online poker market, which seemed to come to an end at the time.
Why Is Online Poker Illegal In The Us States
Legal Online Poker Sites Rise Again
Also in 2011, the DOJ released a legal opinion that the Federal Wire act exclusively applied only to one form of gambling: sports betting. A few states saw this as a possibility, paving the way to regulated online casinos and legal US poker sites.
In 2012, Delaware was the first state that managed to do just that. Then, in December 2013, Nevada followed the example of passing online poker legislation. A week later, the Garden State became the third to legalize online gambling, and plans for NJ poker sites were made.
The first-ever regulated US online poker site was launched in Nevada in April 2013. Delaware and NJ poker sites went live that same year, a few months later. In 2017, Pennsylvania became the fourth state to join this group. West Virginia is the fifth state where online poker was regulated in 2019. Probably, more states will try to do the same thing in the near future.
Which State is Next?
Is online poker legal in California or New York? This is one of the frequently asked questions that people search for in the USA. They also search for different terms of poker terminology that sound unfamiliar to them. However, that’s another question that we could discuss on some other occasion.
Let’s get back to our question of legal online poker sites and the possible new markets in the USA. Michigan has made significant efforts to legalize online gambling, particularly online poker, while California, New York, and Massachusetts also seem to be moving in the right direction.
Real Money Poker App: How to Find the Best Poker App
It doesn’t matter if you are a Pennsylvania online poker fan or a regular visitor of NJ poker sites, the good news is that you can play poker whenever you want, anywhere within the borders of one or the other state.
Many of the best online poker websites have launched a dedicated real money poker app that you can easily download and install on your device. The best poker apps are available for both iOS and Android operating systems.
In order to find the best poker app, make sure you visit one of the websites we listed at the beginning of our review.
Also, before you replace your poker offline adventure with the one that can be found on the internet, make sure to read some of the online poker reviews and get to know the poker terminology used by the players worldwide. After a brief introduction to the poker basics, it’s time to create your own online poker strategy and join one of the legal online poker communities!