Hold'em girl

Is Playing Online Poker Against the Law?

The answer to this query depends from which side of the fence you are asking the question. In many countries around the world, online poker is not against the law although it is a regulated activity. But from a United States standpoint, the answer is quite hazy. Some believe that online poker is against the law; some say it is not; and still many others say that they don't know. All these confusion is either by design or by accident. While no U.S. law explicitly criminalizes online poker, the U.S. Federal Government has taken the stand that it is indeed illegal citing the Wire Act as the basis of its stand. But even this law is interpreted so broadly that many people have different notions on its actual coverage.

This contentious issue has never been tested in court because to date, no one has been arrested, prosecuted and penalized for playing online poker. Adding to the confusion is the disagreement of the US Department of Justice and the Federal Appeals Court as to whether the Wire Act prohibition includes Internet gambling on a game of chance. Rather than modifying this law to avoid misinterpretations, the US Congress passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act which does not make online poker playing an illegal act, but prohibits online gaming sites from transacting with US financial institutions.

This law has had a damaging effect on the online gaming industry. Many online gambling sites located outside the United States that are believed to be beyond the reach of US law have stopped taking players residing in the United States for fear of legal and economic repercussions. Because of this, the few online poker sites that continue to accept players from the US are now experiencing heavy site traffic.

Despite this prohibition many poker enthusiasts residing in the US continue to play in the few online poker sites that still accept American players. However, they suffer the inconvenience of not being able to load their account through a direct transfer from a bank or credit card company based in the United States. What they do instead is to go around the law by looking for a third party institution, and direct that institution to deposit their funds in the online poker site. Because of this continued acceptance of US players by some Internet gaming sites, the lure of the market will certainly force open the doors of online poker sites that have ceased to accept American players.