To tell the truth, the legality of US online gambling is not as straight forward as one thinks. The reason being though gambling is legal within the federal laws and regulations, every single state has the freedom to apply or for their matter restrict any given law within their own territories. One may find some states where gambling is restricted or better illegal in all its different forms whereas in some other territories one may find the complete opposite. In some sections of US, one may also find some types allowed while some are restricted. However this is just in the outside world and when we change our line of attention over to the cyber world, things just get a lot more complicated. There are many states that have passed state level regulations to decriminalize as well as standardize online gambling. For countless years online gambling legality has always remained in the gray zone and still after many years there exist numerous confusions as to which of them are allowed and which are termed as illegal.
Unlawful internet gambling legalized Act:
One of the main catalysts of this great confusion is mainly due to the law enforcement or regulations which was triggered off in the year 2006 namely via the- UNLAWFUL INTERNET GAMBLING ENFORCEMENT ACT. Though this did not make the practice of cyber gambling illegal, what it did manage to do is restrict the processing of the internet transactions and dealings which were linking to gambling. The UIGEA Act which was a part of the SAFE port Act was mainly introduced for regulating port security. The main obligation of this act was to restrict gambling businesses from deliberately accepting payments or transactions linked with another party or person in bet, involved in the usage of internet. They considered it as an act of Federal State Law violation and deemed it as unlawful or illegal. With the passing or this act, the meaning which came out was that- it was illegal on the part of those gambling web forums to accept money or any kind of depositions. This was also applicable for banks or financial institution to get engaged in such transactions. In simple words, this act did not make these online gambling activities illegal, but what it did was to infuse a fear of legal enforcement to whoever got engaged in such activities. It made them nervous about being involved in its affair.
This act was quite decisive in controlling such gambling activities and in the process prevented many people from getting involved in such matters. Before the UIGEA, there were numerous websites which provided real money to the US inhabitants via gaming or betting, but without any breaking or violating any state laws. But after the introduction of this act, all associated companies which were publicly listed on the stock exchanges, namely Party Gaming, ended the US operations instantaneously! Any others also followed that same path. But there were some who still continued with their operations as there was a strong feeling that the firms running websites from certain physical locations, where such things were legalized did not come under the US regulations.
The effect it had on the State levels:
After the introduction of the UIGEA, numerous states have passed their own state laws and regulations regarding online gambling. This as a result has led to the creation of numerous legalised as well as regulated gambling forums which are specifically meant for the inhabitants of US. These websites are constantly trying to keep up with the latest state legislative and regulatory alterations which affect cyber gambling in America. They also clearly mention on which states their gambling options are legal and also enlighten their end users about where the initiation of such legal proceedings that are being considered or for that matter debated.
Some examples where steps are being taken as we discuss:
Let us take the example of two US states; California and Pennsylvania where steps are being taken to make it happen.
In Pennsylvania, the biggest update regarding the matter came in April 2013. The house bill 2135 was wished-for, summoning the Pennsylvania Gaming control board to assume authorization and responsibility for the legal regulations of providing real cyber gaming within the state. However it was indicated that the undertaken legislation would be restricted. However some of the officials involved in the matter stated that there are still some chances that in some point of the future, things will happen as planned.
In California, online gambling is not legal; however there are still many websites in vivid parts of the globe which accept customers from California. Efforts are being made to legalize online gambling and the focus is mainly on online poker USA. Various bills have been submitted but this has been a bit in the way of a tangible process
If there is a state in the US that is not in a hurry to capitalize on revenues from poker and other gambling activities, it is Nebraska. And nobody can link that to US poker laws or any other federal legislation. Other states have gone on to legalize poker, online gambling and other betting activities with existing US laws as they are.
Nebraska is one state where you are not likely to find a casino and the closest you can find to casino activities are lottery options and also keno.
Sometimes the question of whether to legalize gambling or not does not lie with the state’s top leadership as is evident with the goings on in Nebraska. In 2004, the governor of Nebraska tried to lobby for the legalization of casinos within the state, but his endeavour was countered by grassroots campaign against it. That meant that Nebraska’s state laws were not going to include any poker law or any other law that would see casinos and online gambling sites hosted within the state.
With the group opposing poker and other gambling activities being heavily supported by financial heavyweight, billionaire Warren Buffet, it is unlikely that Nebraska will change any time soon to emulate the likes of New Jersey and other US states that have relaxed their state laws to accommodate state poker law and other legislation touching on gambling in general.
Warren, who is the Wall Street stock market mogul, has $58 billion worth of assets to his name and he does not hesitate to dig into his resources when it comes to the fight against state poker law and related laws in Nebraska. In his opinion, gambling is an additional tax, only this time it is levied against the ignorant. His opposition to gambling activities and associated laws is not a recent thing. He has seen the fight through for decades now; the reason casinos are not a common phenomenon even within the big cities of Nebraska.
The funny thing is that Warren Buffett himself plays poker for leisure and does not hide that fact. And poker enthusiasts would prefer that he recognized that not all betting games are the same – poker, slot machines, and those other casino games. However, Warren has blanket condemnation against legalizing gambling as a whole.
During a time when a casino expansion bill had been drafted, the group opposed to legalization of poker and other gambling activities could not even give room to charity related poker tournaments. The leaders misinformed their supporters that if such a poker law were to pass, it would be opening grounds for establishment of what they referred to as ‘poker palaces’. And the picture they painted was one where such ‘poker palaces’ would mushroom across all of Nebraska.
Those who are for the gambling law are of the opinion that those who oppose the enactment of the poker law and related state laws do not base their arguments on any facts. But no matter how strong the push for legalization of poker and gambling in general gets, Warren Buffett and his counterparts are not ready to give way. It is even unimaginable if they would even fathom anyone trying to pass any state online poker law.
So is anyone in Nebraska hopeful of playing online poker any time soon?
Of course, all is not lost for poker enthusiasts. With a little effort and readiness to be adventurous, poker lovers in Nebraska may soon be able to enjoy the game across their immediate borders. The states of Iowa and Kansas; plus Colorado too, are said to be on the verge of legalizing online poker.
As at now, 2015, the position of state laws that regulate online gambling or any other form of gambling in Arkansas is somewhat confusing. However, there are state laws which, through the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA), have prohibited banks from making any transactions that have anything to do with gambling payments or proceeds.
Online poker and other forms of gambling may not be explicitly allowed in the state of Arkansas today, but during the time of the settlers, gambling was the order of the day. In fact, when the US civil war ended, gambling became all the more entrenched into the Arkansas society so that nobody raised the question of gambling illegality. Hot Springs, one of Arkansas’ cities, was at some point the gambling hotbed. And there was disorder too as two affluent families, the Flynns and the Dolans, fought for domination. Apparently, there were no gambling state laws to speak about those days, and those who ran casinos exercised their muscle the best way they knew how.
Frank Flynn was the guy who, for many years, dominated the gambling arena with his gambling houses without the inhibitions of state laws. However, when an ex-army major, Alexander Dolan brought in competition in 1884, all hell broke loose. Instead of the show being confined to the betting tables, the dirty part of it extended beyond the gambling arena and even involved different law enforcement departments fighting on opposite sides in support of the different families. There were no US poker laws or any other state laws that could be invoked to bring the Flynn/Dolan rivalry to an end. So the gambling related feud only came to a natural halt when Dolan was murdered.
So did the feud catalyze the enactment of stringent gambling state laws?
Incidentally, there is no sign that state laws were put in place to avoid future catastrophes. Nevertheless, gambling continued unabated with Hot Springs becoming the most dominant gambling centre within the US. But come 1967 and any poker that residents may have enjoyed came to an end plus all other gambling activities. The many casinos that existed were burnt down together with their equipment from the instigation of the Republican Governor of the time. No gambling venue was left in operation.
What is the position of gambling in Arkansas today?
Today, there are state laws that say something about betting and other gambling activities within the state of Arkansas. However, the reality is that these laws have confusing clauses that leave gambling enthusiasts using their discretion to choose the gaming activities to partake in as they hope that the law does not prove to be against them. As for availability of gaming venues, the ones of brick and mortar are only two. But you can find websites for online gambling in excess of two.
At a glance, someone reading the statute in Arkansas will find anything to do with betting for money or property outright outlawed – until you read the exceptions. The state laws lift restrictions for social betting as well as private betting, the assumption being that no profit is to be earned by the host. Charitable bingo is also excused just as are raffle games; and even pari-mutuel betting. That portrays a rather conservative state government.
However, gamblers still log onto the web and play online poker even if it means playing on sites that are hosted in other states. The bright side is that there are no conspicuous cases of people being fined or incarcerated for engaging in online gambling within the state of Arkansas.
The legality of online poker has been unclear in Alabama over the years, and even today, nobody can really tell where the state laws stand with it. For one, nobody will drag you to prison even if you play online poker as long as you do not speak of real money in the game. Again, the code should not give any indication that what you were doing is anything to do with online gambling. Seems like the case of an uncaught thief, so to speak. What is explicitly illegal, however, is the case of a company or an individual offering real money to anyone for a gambling activity. Generally speaking, outright gambling, whether it is within a brick and mortar environment or it is online gambling is outlawed in the state of Alabama – at least on paper.
So, where do online poker players stand with the state laws?
The true position is that no poker player has ever been charged in a court of law in Alabama for engaging in online poker. So although poker falls under gambling related activities and it is illegal to pay for gambling, online poker continues to be played in Alabama without the authorities seeming to be perturbed.
The Alabama state laws have undergone ups and downs in the past century. They have been made and unmade; passed, repealed and overturned; until nobody is sure any more what the next set of legislators is going to do about regulation of gambling within the state.
After the civil war, for instance, the state of Alabama was fast in legalizing various versions of gambling. That included lotteries. In those days, unlike today when online gambling is the in-thing, competitive gambling amongst different states was the order of the day. However, soon a whimsical decision was made which made a good number of gambling activities, including the lottery, illegal, simply because the state of Alabama happened to have been on a losing streak. Come 1901 and the whole gambling business and any other game of chance were criminalized.
And the roller coaster ride continued. Within the 1930s, gambling was again legalized in Phoenix, one of the cities in Alabama, just so that the city could charge a fee for every gambling license issued and raise revenues to run the city that had gone bankrupt. Unfortunately, as the state laws loosened up, incidence of organized crime seemed to rise; and for the many years that state laws continued to allow gambling, crime became the order of the day. Not surprisingly, the gambling freedom came to an end when a relatively more conservative Attorney General (AG) took office in 1954. But with the organized criminal rings well established, the Attorney General did not last long – he was, sadly, assassinated.
Following the death of the AG, the city mayor, who obviously valued the revenues the city was gaining from gambling, overturned the state laws against gambling and poker and other gambling activities resumed without ruffling any feathers. With this kind of history, it is understandable why in Alabama the topic of gambling is sensitive in a kind of sour way; the reason gambling takes place but is not enthusiastically discussed.
What is the position of gambling state laws in Alabama today?
There seems to be a glimmer of hope for gamblers in Alabama as sometime this year the relevant committee passed a bill proposing legalizing of casinos on race tracks and also proposing the launch of a state lottery. The gambling fraternity is actually hopeful that the senate will pass the bill as well and the state laws will from then on continue to give way to gambling.
What do you know about the legality of online poker within the US states?
In many of the US states, the law is silent in matters touching on online poker
Even when it comes to the federal law, there is hardly a section or clause that makes online poker outright illegal
Of course historical records do not bring up the name of anyone who has been prosecuted for engaging in online poker.
In many US states, there are poker sites that are fully in operation and they are regulated accordingly.
Still, it would be too simplistic to assume that you can look at the position of US online poker in black and white. There is talk of no restrictions yet there is also the fact of Black Friday, an occasion that left many online poker players reeling with the possibility of massive unforeseen losses. That happened one day in 2011. Clearly, state laws are ambiguous on the legality of online poker. Making the situation even more complex is the fact that federal law is at times at loggerheads with the laws of individual states. And then there are situations where state online poker law is non-existent. So, with the mix of ambiguity, silence in law and conflict between federal and local state laws, only a practical poker guide can help.
Issues of Concern for Online Poker Players in the US
Did you know that there are poker rooms that will keep you off if your state is against online poker playing? That means the site has mechanisms of protecting you against breaking the law. Also the site will not be liable of obtaining funds from an illegal activity in the name of outlawed online poker. Of course you need to be alive to the fact that sometimes such sites can be missing updates of various state laws on poker. The best you can do is take responsibility for your gaming and guard against breaking the law.
Here are questions that often bother poker players:
Do I play for actual money on this online poker site?
Do I use my credit card to make deposit?
I’m I of gambling age according to this particular state poker law?
What does the state online poker law say regarding taxation on poker winnings?
These are amongst the most important questions every poker player wants clarified in order to enjoy peace of mind while playing poker online.
Other pertinent poker related questions include:
Is poker playing currently legal in my state, and if not, are there signs that it is going to be legalized soon?
Is it allowed to play for real money in my state?
Are there individual legislators lobbying to have state laws amended in favour of online poker?
What is the penalty, if there is, for engaging in online poker within my state?
What Is The Legal Position Regarding US Online Poker?
Any illegality regarding online poker will most likely come from the individual state poker law as no federal statute bans playing poker over the internet. Even the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA) only made it illegal for an American to run an online site for poker, an illegality that becomes evident from the host’s financial operations. It is easy to appreciate this position after observing what transpired when the justice department closed down the operations of Tilt Poker – individual online poker players received back all their monies! So you need not fret about the issue of playing poker online if at all your state poker law does not explicitly outlaw online poker playing.
Different states in the nation take part and want to be one of the first handful to permit gambling and online poker, Wyoming has taken a slower, more deliberate way. In 2013, it turns into the 44th state to operate a state lottery.
But before people go hog-wild with lottery games in Wyoming, know this: administrator is so taken by their dread of growing gambling, they prohibited the auction of scratch-off label and sales from lottery equipment at provisions.
Wyoming history recommend that it will reject online poker and gambling as additional states instigate to go be alive in 2014, 2015, and away from.
As end of 2013, there is no statement in the channel that would authoritatively permit online poker in Wyoming. No politicians are allowing for online poker validation and there is no waged people progress from Wyoming online poker players to move for its inhabitants to be permitted to play.
However, there are no rules that particularly prohibit online poker live and no one in Wyoming has been in exciting for playing online poker and gambling.
Wyoming is residence to three Indian casinos that extend poker, table games, slots and bingo. Inaccessible physically, Wyoming online-poker-playing inhabitants would assistance by being approved authorization to play online.
When Players Can Play Online Poker In Wyoming?
With no awaiting rule or even the smallest amount of force being apply by the people in Wyoming that operate casinos – attached with an tremendously conventional vision on gambling growth – online poker players in Wyoming will have to stay Not even a centralized online poker statement would carry online poker to Wyoming players, as the state would most likely opt-out of taking part in the national game.
It’s going to take an important move from its online players in Wyoming for its chosen administrator to start on to believe about this matter. Without this move forward, and lacking an important move in strategy from it designated administrator, it will be slightest until 2020 before Wyoming even believe being paid into the game.
