Us Online Poker Legislation 2019

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.

This article aims to clear up the myths about online poker legislation in the United States and provide an accurate view of the current rules and regulations. As some of these rules and regulations vary according to individual jurisdictions, we have also included a series of state-by-state guides which we aim to keep updated as changes occur.

In the United States, the North Dakota House of Representatives passed a bill in February 2005 to legalize and regulate online poker and online poker card room operators in the state. The legislation required that online poker operations would have to physically locate their entire operations in the state. California was primed to legalize poker this year, but 2019 is the new prediction from one well-placed industry representative. The state is seen by many as a “tipping point” for online poker, a prerequisite for getting a discussion going at the Federal level.

Is it Legal to Play Poker Online in the United States?

There is no federal law that prohibits players from playing poker for real money online in the US. Many people believe that the Wire Act of 1961 or the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA) made it illegal to play poker online in the US, but that is inaccurate.

In September 2011, the US Department of Justice released a formal legal opinion that the Wire Act only related to sports betting (which is also banned by the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act 1992), while UIGEA made certain methods of payment processing illegal.

However, each state has its own set of laws when it comes to gambling. This makes it very difficult for individuals to figure out if they are breaking the law by playing poker online. There has also been one significant event (“Black Friday”) that sculpted the current landscape for online poker in the United States.

States that have Regulated Online Poker

Following the release of the Department of Justice´s opinion, three states introduced legislation for the regulation of online poker – Nevada, Delaware and New Jersey. By the end of summer 2019, Pennsylvania joined as the group as the fourth state to legalize online poker. Several other states are in the process of debating the pros and cons of regulated online poker, and it is anticipated that a second wave of regulating states will soon follow.

The good news for players in the US is that many experts are predicting a domino effect when states that are currently sitting on the fence realize the tax revenues that can be generated from online poker. Hopefully, this will result in the majority of states providing some form of regulatory structure in the near future.

On the flip side of the coin, there have been several attempts to regulate Internet poker at federal level, and also to ban it. Nothing has materialized from any form of lobbying on Capitol Hill and this is likely to remain the case – as states opposed to Internet poker will demand an opt-out, while those in favor of Internet poker oppose a blanket ban on the grounds that it affects their constitutional rights under the tenth amendment.

The Effects of UIGEA on Internet Poker

The passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) made it illegal for US banks and other US-based payment processors to transfer funds to or from an Internet poker site. This has made it increasingly difficult for online poker players to deposit funds into their accounts, but it definitely has not made playing Internet poker for real money in the US illegal.

States that have regulated Internet poker have taken advantage of a carve-out in UIGEA that allows intrastate financial transactions for horse racing and fantasy sports betting to overcome payment issues. In the other forty-seven states, a selection of poker deposit methods exists to enable players to fund their accounts (and withdraw their winnings), so effectively UIGEA was just an annoying distraction.

What the passage of UIGEA did achieve was the withdrawal of several major poker sites from the US – including the industry leader at the time, PartyPoker. The void was filled by PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, who respectively became the biggest online poker sites in the world until Black Friday in April 2011.

The Effects of Black Friday on Online Poker

On April 15 2011, the US Department of Justice unsealed indictments against PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and another major operator in the US market – Absolute Poker. It was alleged in the indictments that the three online poker providers had illegally circumnavigated UIGEA by laundering profits through small banks and offshore payment processors.

The seizure of the poker sites´ domain names resulted in their closure – PokerStars later going back online in the US so that players could withdraw their funds. PokerStars went on to buy out Full Tilt Poker two years later, and made a settlement with the Department of Justice that included the repayment of former US Full Tilt Poker players.

Following the closure of the three sites, players in the US sought out other sites to play at. This led to the emergence of Americas Cardroom and Black Chip Poker as major players in the US market – and, more recently, Bovada and Ignition Poker. Although these sites have never been able to command the sort of traffic that was witnessed prior to Black Friday, they still provide a viable – and legal – alternative to not playing online poker at all!

Guide to Online Poker Legislation in the States

Poker legislation in the states is changing all the time. You can see the current state-by-state laws relating to Internet poker by clicking on the state links in the menu on the right or click on one of the states below:

• US Players Accepted
• Online poker sweepstakes for real cash prizes
• Visa/Mastercards Accepted

US poker sites ranked by traffic

There are currently 4 states that offer legal online poker in the United States – New Jersey, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. Pennsylvania became the latest to join this group when PokerStarswent live in the state on Nov. 4, 2019.

WSOP/888 US is currently the only poker site that shares online poker players between all three legal online poker states (NJ, Nevada & Delaware). It’s currently the #1 US online poker site by traffic.

Poker Stars – New Jersey and Pennsylvania

Party Poker – New Jersey only

Pala Poker – New Jersey only

US States launching soon

With the official launch of online poker Pennsylvania, there remains only one state that has legalized online poker. West Virginia legalized online poker in 2019, but wasn’t expected to go live until 2020.

The Mountain State, however, has a small population and launching an online poker room with a large number of players may be difficult without a shared liquidity pool with other states.

That may be resolved through litigation regarding the federal Wire Act.

Sweepstakes Online Poker – Available to all US Players

Global Poker – Uses a unique sweepstakes model allowing for online poker for real cash prizes and is available in all US states.

What is or is not legal in US?

Playing online poker is not strictly against any US laws. Therefore, a number of offshore sites continue to find creative ways around the banking issues created by UIGEA and continue to accept US customers.

In the years following the 2011 indictments, four states have also passed bills legalizing and regulating the activity in fenced-in markets inside state lines. Three of those states have also signed an agreement to share player pools.

In the meantime, Global Poker, which started accepting US customers in December 2016, uses a sweepstakes and virtual-currency online poker model. As a result, it is not considered online gambling, leaving it outside the purview of the UIGEA.

Where can I play poker online in the US?

Outside of state-licensed online poker sites in Delaware, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, there’s really only one legal online poker site for US players.

Global Poker

Global Poker offers what amounts to real-money online poker to players inside the United States. The site launched in December 2016 offering a form of virtual currency gaming. The virtual currency can later be converted into real money on PayPal, but players don’t start out on Global Poker buying into tournaments and cash games with real dollars.

Instead, they purchase Gold Coins which come with bonus sweepstakes prizes called $weeps Cash. The $weeps Cash can be used to buy into $weeps Cash tournaments and ring games. Any $weeps Cash earned can then be cashed out through PayPal. There are also Gold Coin poker games, but no real money available down that road.

Global Poker uses its own custom-made poker software incorporating its patented sweepstakes technology. It’s glitchy, but serviceable.

Best Us Poker Sites 2019

The site is strictly No-Limit Hold’em and Pot-Limit Omaha, but there are cash games, tournaments and sit and go’s. Global Poker runs various freeroll tournaments and promotional leader boards. All of the banking is done through PayPal.

Where can I play poker live in the US?

Poker is America’s game. As a result, most states have tribal casinos, commercial casinos or card rooms where you can expect to be able to play live poker.

In fact, it’s much easier to list the states where you can’t legally play live poker. Although, even in that list of states below, you likely won’t have to look too hard to find an underground game, or a casino in a neighboring state with a poker room tucked right up next to the border.

• Utah
• Texas*
• Hawaii
• Tennessee
• Alaska
• New Hampshire
• Georgia

*Texas is experimenting with poker in private social club settings. The state attorney general has declined to issue an opinion so far, leading to sizable operations opening in major cities. However, a recent raid in Houston has cast considerable doubt on the longterm viability of the clubs.

Individual states with online poker offerings

Up to and including January 2018, there are just four US states with laws legalizing and regulating online poker.

Delaware was the first state to do it, passing the Delaware Gaming Competitiveness Act in the summer of 2012. It approved both online poker and online casino games.

In February 2013, Nevada became the second state to come on board, authorizing the issue of online poker licenses. Within a week, New Jersey became the third state to legalize online gambling. It authorized the issue of licenses to casinos in Atlantic City that allowed them to operate both online poker and online casino sites.

In April 2013, the first-ever legal and regulated online poker site in the US went live in Nevada. The site’s name was Ultimate Poker. An offshoot of Station Casinos affiliated with the Ultimate Fighting Championship mixed martial arts organization ran the site. By November of that same year, legal and regulated online poker sites also went live in Delaware and New Jersey.

Pennsylvania jumps on board

Pennsylvania became the fourth state to authorize online gambling. It passed online poker and online gambling legislation as a part of a comprehensive gambling expansion bill in October 2017.

Since then, there has been much legal and regulatory maneuvering in the state. There has even been an external threat that arose after the Department of Justice revised its opinion about the Wire Act’s applicability.

PokerStars officially launched in Pennsylvania on Nov. 4, 2019. Rivers casino schenectady ny address.

West Virginia makes it five to go

West Virginia is now the fifth state to legalize online poker. The Mountain State did so with the passage of H 2934, the West Virginia Lottery Interactive Wagering Act.

Us Online Poker 2019

The bill became law after Gov. Jim Justice declined to sign. However, the appearance of online poker (and casino) sites in West Virginia is not imminent.

Lottery officials must still promulgate regulations for the new industry. It is likely to be 2020 before any site will possibly launch.

Activity in other states

Of course, a number of other states, including California, New York, Massachusetts, and Illinois have all seriously considered various forms of legislation that would legalize and regulate online poker over the past few years.

In 2018 and 2019, Michigan also made significant pushes to legalize online gaming, including poker.

The federal government has succeeded in pushing the largest global online poker site operators out of the US market. However, several offshore online poker operators still accept US players.

US online poker overview

There are essentially two federal laws that govern online poker in the US.

The Wire Act

The first is the Interstate Wire Act of 1961, aka the Federal Wire Act. The law essentially prohibits the operation of certain types of betting businesses using wire communications. Its original aim was to stop interstate gambling and end organized crime’s interest in the business.

The act passed decades before the internet or online poker even existed. However, since it governed the loosely-related act of betting or wagering using wire communications, many believed it had some jurisdiction over online gambling.

In September 2011, in response to questions regarding the legality of online lottery sales, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) released a formal legal opinion on the scope of the act. The opinion concluded that interstate transmissions of wire communications that do not relate to a sporting event or contest fall outside of its reach.

Interested states took it to mean the act did not apply to online poker or other forms of online gambling. Now, four of those states have passed legislation legalizing and regulating the activity.

That may be changing, however. In January 2019, the DOJ reversed its opinion to say that the Wire Act, in fact, does relate to all online gambling.

In June 2019, a New Hampshire federal judge threw out the opinion as it relates to two litigants – the New Hampshire Lottery Commission and an associated vendor. However, the ripple effect of this judgment is unclear at this point.

The UIGEA

The second law is the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). Congress passed UIGEA in 2006. It made it illegal for US banks to process transactions for offshore online gambling operators. The law effectively pushed a number of online poker sites out of the market.

Other sites stayed in the US. However, the DOJ forced the largest remaining sites in the industry, including PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker/Ultimate Bet out in 2011. The DOJ charged them with various illegal gambling and money laundering charges, partly under UIGEA.

History of online poker in the US

Online gambling first hit the internet when online casinos started opening in 1994. The operators were mostly based in places like Antigua or the Isle of Man, but they still took customers from the United States and were only too happy to accept US cash.

In 1996, the Mohawk Territoryof Kahnawake, a First Nations group based just outside of Montreal, Canada brought online gambling to North American soil for the first time. It set up a gaming commission and started issuing licenses to online casino sites. The Kahnawake Gaming Commission helped the number of online gambling websites around the world go from a handful to hundreds.

In 1998, a Canadian entrepreneur launched the first-ever online poker site. Planet Poker advertised in CardPlayer Magazine in the US prior to its Jan. 1, 1998 launch. The first ever real-money online $3/$6 Hold ’em game was filled with US players.

By 1999, the US Senate realized online gambling was widespread across the US and sought to do something about it. The Internet Gambling Prohibition Act was introduced, but it did not pass.

Over the next few years, sites introduced more sophisticated online poker software, and new sites launched around the world, offering cash games and tournaments.

In 2002, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled the Federal Wire Act prohibits sports betting, but not necessarily online gambling. At the time, the DOJ disagreed, claiming online gambling was illegal, However, the industry kept growing.

The poker boom

In 2003, online poker’s popularity really took off. A Tennessee accountant aptly named Chris Moneymaker won the World Series of Poker Main Event after getting into the tournament through an online satellite. Coverage aired on ESPN, and Moneymaker’s story became a national obsession. Millions of Americans thought they could be next.

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Poker was suddenly everywhere on TV, as the advent of hole-card cameras made live games more watchable than ever. Most shows were branded, and the commercial breaks were filled with spots for offshore online poker sites. The productions sold the game to the American TV-watching public and they bought it.

Then, in 2006, Congress took another shot at taming the wild beast. It passed UIGEA, making it illegal for US banks to handle transactions with offshore online poker sites. It certainly pushed a handful of operators out of the US market, but it didn’t eliminate the market altogether.

Several sites still accepted US players and found ways around the banking issues. Online poker continued to grow until April 15, 2011.

On that day, three of the largest online poker operators in the world were indicted on various illegal gambling and money laundering charges, including violating UIGEA. The sites included PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker/Ultimate Bet. Access to the sites from the US was shut down, and the massive US online poker market was effectively closed.

However, it wouldn’t take long before efforts to open it up again began.

US legal and regulated online poker

In response to questions regarding the legality of online lottery sales in December 2011, the DOJ released a legal opinion that the Federal Wire Act only applies to sports betting. Several states took this to mean they could consider licensing and regulating online poker and casino sites if they wanted.

Delaware was the first state to do it, approving both online poker and online casino legislation in 2012.

In February 2013, Nevada became the second state to pass online gambling legislation, authorizing the issue of online poker licenses. A week later, New Jersey became the third state to legalize online gambling and made plans to issue licenses for online poker and online casino sites.

In April 2013, the first-ever legal and regulated online poker site in the US went live in Nevada. Legal and regulated online poker sites went live in Delaware and New Jersey in November 2013. Pennsylvania became the fourth state to legalize online poker when it passed a comprehensive gambling expansion bill in October 2017.

Now, as sites jump through the regulatory hoops to get games up and running in Pennsylvania, even more states are considering similar online poker legislation.