Is internet poker legal in the US?
Many people are concerned about the legality of online poker in the US. Unfortunately, there is no simple answer to this question. Let's just take a look at some issues revolving this matter and then maybe you can decide for yourself what you should do.
The US government always wants to regulate forms of gambling, hoping to control crime and abuses by underage players. With the advent of Las Vegas and Atlantic City casinos, and newer Native American and Reservation-Area casinos, laws were made to protect who could play poker in brick and mortar settings.
When poker went online, the laws lost their clarity because there are no global or national Internet regulations. The Wire Act of 1961 has been the main gambling law in the US for almost fifty years. It was mainly written to prevent illegal sports betting, and it targets any wagers made over "wired communication means."
Many prosecutors have tried to use the Wire Act to stop internet poker. In the late 1990s and early 2000s many state and federal cases have gotten mixed results when trying to apply the Wire Act to internet poker. Quite simply, the Wire Act has not been effective in controlling internet poker.
Then came the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, or UIGEA. This was passed by US Congress in July 2006. It was designed to ban all money transfers from U.S. financial institutions to any illegal Internet site, specifically online gambling sites. The authors thought it would be easier to stop the cash flow of online gambling sites than to ban online gambling.
UIGEA opponents immediately worked to overturn the legislation, which is still in progress today. U.S. leaders are divided on the issue, many of whom claim that tax from legal online poker could solve the country's dire financial woes. The full terms of the UIGEA went into effect on June 1, 2010.
Although the Federal standpoint is a gray area at best, some states have made the matter clearer by explicity banning internet poker with legislation. Other states have no stance on the matter. States where internet poker is banned include Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington, and Wisconsin.
In other states, you can legally play internet poker. No Federal law targets individuals – they are focused on stopping the groups who accept bets over the internet. So far, no poker player has ever been prosecuted for playing online poker.