Is online poker legal in the
USA?
Is online poker legal in the USA?
It's a question that crops up time and
again on the poker forums. The short answer is YES! There’s
no such thing as a ban on online gambling. The bottom line is
that Online Poker, which in 49 of 50 States of the USA was legal before
Bush signed, is still legal in those states today.
Is
online poker legal in the USA? Yes! Join a LEGAL USA-friendly poker
site today!
There’s a big over-reaction and
unnecessary panic out there. We’re here to guide
you through the storm.
The poker companies, some of whom also seemed to
have trouble answering the question "Is online poker legal in the USA?"
and then rushed to leave the market in a panic have been the biggest
losers, with their market share gobbled up by the brave sites that
stayed.
So what's the REAL story? The full name of
the law Bush signed is the Unlawful Internet Gambling
Enforcement Act.
The best analysis of this act can be found here.
It’s intense reading. In short, you should not worry about
playing internet poker, as the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement
Act makes NO CHANGES TO US LAW.
What was legal before it was signed is
still legal today. So is online poker legal in the USA? Absolutely.
No stormtroopers in jackboots are going to
bust down your door and haul your ass off to Guantanamo Bay for playing
a few hours of Texas holdem.
Join
a LEGAL USA-friendly poker site today!
What about the companies who left the US market?
I am as baffled as everybody else by the
sudden response from companies to the Is online poker legal USA
question. They must have had very poor legal advice,
as there seems no basis for their pullout.
There's a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde type
reaction in the market, with several sites pulling out, while others
offer special enticements to the US players left high and dry by their
site of choice.
It is a shame that rational business
people have been panicked in this way, to the extent of losing
their most lucrative market. Let’s look at the
facts of the case and see what your prospects are, if you live in the
USA and want to play online poker.
Is
online poker legal in the USA? Yes! Join a LEGAL USA-friendly poker
site today!
Does the "Online Gambling Ban" mean it’s illegal to
play poker online?
No. What the US government is trying to do
is prevent poker players from sending and receiving money
using online payment systems, such as Neteller (which pulled
out of the US market -- and then CANADA?! -- with no apparent need).
They are NOT after players, they are targeting the organisations which
support the players by moving their money back and forth.
They’re expecting the banks to
co-operate with the FBI to prevent transactions to and from gambling
sites.
This has already been described as
virtually impossible. Imagine asking the USPS to open all the
mail, in case somebody is sending cash... It’s
about the same scale, only ten times worse because there are many times
as many electronic transactions as there are letters.
There’s absolutely
nothing to prevent US players from sending and receiving checks and
money orders. Yes, it’s more difficult and
time-consuming, so the chances are that the net result of the Online
Gambling Ban will be to drive out the casual players.
The very people the American lawmakers
claim to be protecting – gambling addicts – will of
course find a way to fund their addiction.
Is online poker legal in the USA? Yes! Join
a LEGAL USA-friendly poker site today!
What has changed since the Act passed?
Surprisingly little, unless you played at the
sites which pulled out of the market very early, or had significant
money invested in the shares of the companies which decided to withdraw
from the US market.
Most of the companies based in the
Caribbean continue to accept US players. It’s
doubtful whether FBI action could prevent Americans from accessing
these poker sites.
The smart money is on the American
government finding a way to legalise online gambling and thus claim a
huge slice of tax revenue. Once it does, those companies who left the
market because they were unsure about is poker legal USA will come back
to beg for their customers to rejoin.
Is online poker legal in the USA? Yes! Join
a LEGAL USA-friendly poker site today!
Will I lose my money if the site I played at has left the US
market?
Almost certainly not, if your previous
site was a big player with no risk of bankruptcy. Party Poker has paid
out all its US players, including their share of promotions
like the Monster series of tournaments.
Some of the smaller companies might
struggle to pay all their customers, but we’ve not heard of
any problems so far.
So, enjoy your game of poker. Still
worried about being arrested in your home for playing Texas Holdem?
Don’t be. Click here for an article about
State law and Internet Gambling.
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Now
you know the answer to "Is online poker legal in the USA?", do you want
to join a USA friendly
poker site?
