Poker in USA
Posted by admin on December 23rd, 2008
Although Texas Holdem, the world’s most popular form of poker, originates from the United States, US residents may experience certain difficulties while playing online. First of all, most online poker rooms do not accept US residents at all, or don’t allow them to play real money games (make deposits and withdraw winnings). Besides of this, playing poker online is illegal in many states. In this article we shall try to figure out whether it is legal to play poker online and what are the best rooms to play online poker in USA.
The legality of poker in USA is quite controversial state to state, but is online poker illegal? That is one of the biggest questions for online poker players from the United States. No, online poker is not illegal in the USA, but it’s just a short answer and it just won’t do to cover such a big question.
First of all, the passing of the commonly known UIGEA law (the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) in the beginning of 2006 did not make online gambling, including poker, illegal. It just made all American financial institutions, including banks, responsible for policing where the US residents used their credit cards online.
However, while this law did not forbid to play poker online, it made some impediment for making deposits, because most online poker rooms are companies based overseas. US residents must be also aware of their state laws that may prohibit online poker. For example, Washington DC made playing online poker and other gambling games illegal.
Besides of this, after the passing of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, many online poker rooms stopped accepting payments from US residents. However, there are still many online poker rooms that allow US residents to fund their online poker room accounts. You can find a complete list of US-accepting poker rooms at RoomReview.net.