Legal Poker Sites

With crackdowns on poker sites in the United States, many online poker players are left wondering if the poker site they play at is legal. Players in other parts of the world don’t have to worry about the legality of online poker as much. For players outside the United States (and a small number of other countries) the bigger question is whether or not a poker site you send real money to is legitimate.

But for Americans who worry about whether or not they are committing a crime by playing poker online, here’s a quick guide to play poker at legal poker sites.

Best Poker Site:

Brand	USA Friendly?	Easy Deposits/Withdrawals?	Play now
	Yes	Yes	BetOnline Poker

The Internet is a funny thing. We use it for checking email, reading news, shopping, and even doing research on real estate or for school projects. There’s a growing population of people who want to use the Internet to gamble playing poker and other casino games.

Concerns about online security are nothing new. Connecting your computer to millions of other computers over a network can be dangerous. Even those of us who choose not to use online banking or buy things online with our credit cards have to worry about the security of our online behavior.

Figuring out if it is safe and even legal to play poker online is a bit of a headache for Americans, who have to put up with tons of useless government infiltration into their gaming.

The American Law against Online Gaming

Called the UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) was a law tacked on to a larger bill that tried to give the United States’ rather weak laws against gambling some teeth. Here’s a look at what the UIGEA is, where it comes from, and what it actually does.

Former President George W. Bush tacked the UIGEA in the fine print of a much larger anti-terrorism bill called the SAFE Ports Act. Of course, the UIGEA has absolutely nothing to do with American’s fight against terrorism. The SAFE Ports Act dealt with the security of ports of entry and terrorism. Where did the UIGEA come from?

Mostly, support in the form of cash and vocal support came from professional sports organizations in America, like the NFL, the NBA, baseball, College Sports and other pro sports.

What the UIGEA actually does is up for debate. According to the act, passage of the UIGEA made it illegal for Americans to transfer money from their bank to an online gambling venue except under specific circumstances.

Did this end online gaming in America? Not exactly. Everything has loopholes, so does the UIGEA.

The biggest reason the UIGEA didn’t do much to online gaming in America is that it is impossible to control all of those transactions coming and going. Banks are expected to police their own transactions . . . but how will a bank know if the money you’re sending out is going to pay a bill or to fund an online poker account?

Still, many American poker players got nervous about the UIGEA. The Department of Justice is the group in America that would swoop in if you broke the UIGEA law, and they’re serious business, something like INTERPOL or the MI5.

Is the UIGEA an American Government Law or State Law?

It’s important to understand that Americans have to deal with two kinds of laws—state and Federal. In America, government laws (Federal law) takes precedent over individual state’s laws. The reason the Federal government decided to get involved in online gambling is that online gaming in America exploded in popularity in recent years. When online gaming first started, in 1996, it was so small that it drew no attention from the government.

What the UIGEA Did to American Gaming

It is clear to anyone with a high school education that the UIGEA does not technically ban or make gambling illegal outright. What it does is penalize people who send money to online gamblers through their bank account, or attempt to anyway.

Here’s what the UIGEA says specifically:

“A bet is defined as the staking . . . of property in order to win something . . . based on a sporting event or a game of chance.”

That is pretty loose language, and it offers American poker players a nice loophole. Games of skill, by the definition above, are allowed for American players as long as you don’t fund that playing from an American bank or site based in America. In fact, the only kind of online gambling that is specifically outlawed by the UIGEA is online gambling and bets placed online on the outcome of sporting events.

Of course, some state laws have popped up after the UIGEA to make things even more complicated. In the American state of Louisiana, for example, a state law exists that bans all online gambling. This is probably because of the existence of casinos in Louisiana, where online gambling is seen as competition to a major statewide industry.

Interpretations of UIGEA and American Poker Gambling

If it isn’t clear already, the laws in America about playing poker online for money are very complicated and allow for all sorts of loopholes and exceptions. In fact, American laws about online poker play change constantly.

Are online poker sites legal for American players? I hate to be so wishy-washy, but the answer is still “Yes” and “No.”

The UIGEA alone didn’t affect the legality of online poker very much. In fact, since there are only a couple of American states that outright ban Internet gambling of any sort, and because some laws are already on the Federal books that prevent these kinds of transactions from being made legally, then-President Bush was pretty much just making an empty gesture for his donors from professional sports leagues.

The Future of American Online Poker Gambling

While all this was happening, Bush’s Federal government was working on its own way of controlling, taxing, and regulation online gambling. Certain government committees in America worked out that the country could earn as much as $42 billion a year if they controlled gambling instead of forcing it into the back alleys of the Internet. The American government is considering offering Federal licenses for legal and controlled gaming operators that would allow them to maintain their online gambling operations the way they currently exist if they don’t offer sports betting.

Pretty soon, our friends in America that want to play at legal poker sites could have a lot more options to choose from.

Americans—you don’t really have to fear the Department of Justice busting you’re your door if you bet a little at online poker. Play poker only at sites that accept American customers, and use legitimate means of transferring your money, and you’re probably okay.