The two major exceptions where playing online poker is an illegal activity are in the states of Washington (where playing is a felony) and Utah, (where it’s a class B misdemeanor). On the opposite side of the coin are three states that fully embraced the legality on online poker: Nevada, Delaware, and New Jersey.

1. Is Online Poker Legal In Us
2. Washington State Online Poker Sites

In what has been a roller coaster of a decade for the poker industry, the final few months of 2009 have the potential to be as important as any recent stretch for the game.

Banks have begun preparing for Dec. 1, when they will be legally responsible for complying with all UIGEA regulations. iMEGA has been thinking over its next move after its challenge of the UIGEA fell short in the U.S. third district court of appeals last week, considering options that include anything from an appeal to the Supreme Court to a re-energized focus on state battles in the months ahead. And poker players look to Rep. Barney Frank’s bills with cautious optimism that the federal government will finally move to explicitly legalize and regulate the game.

Card Player takes a look at the major issues facing the industry today, and talks to some of the people who are in the best position to accurately predict what’s in store in the months ahead. In the first part of a multi-part series, we will examine the banks’ preparation for Dec. 1, 2009 — a date that has some poker players fearful and even more players angry.

Getting Serious — The Banks Prepare for Dec. 1

It seems like ages ago that the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was rushed through Congress as an addendum to the SAFE Port Act. In fact, President George W. Bush signed it into law almost three years ago, on Oct. 13, 2006.

But the actual regulations for the UIGEA weren’t drafted until much later, and it wasn’t until November 2008 that the Office of Management and Budget approved and finalized the bill, ensuring that the mandatory 60-day-review for the Act would be completed just before President Bush left office and establishing Dec. 1, 2009 as the date that all banks would be legally obligated to comply with all of the regulations of the UIGEA.
That date has been circled on the calendars of banks and online poker operators for months now. While Rep. Frank has introduced a bill that would delay the implementation of the regulations, debate concerning the bill has been quiet on Capitol Hill, as Congress has focused on much more high profile issues such as the tenuous financial system and potential health care reform in recent months.

With just 80 days until Dec. 1, Card Player tracked down Steve Kenneally, the vice president of the American Bankers Association (ABA), to discuss what exactly the banks have done to prepare for Dec. 1.

Kenneally speaks from a position of significant authority on the topic. The ABA is the largest banking association in the United States. With more than 4,000 member banks, it represents approximately 95 percent of all of the banking assets in the country.

“The banks are not going to be responsible for monitoring transactions going in and out of individual accounts. So, they are not going to be tracking ‘Joe Smith’ to see if his check, which was written to ‘Johnny’s Cards,’ is going to a Hallmark store on an online gambling site in Aruba,” said Kenneally.

“Where they are responsible for monitoring and blocking transactions are with debit and credit cards, and that is most likely going to be where you see banks blocking whatever falls into the category of both lawful and unlawful wagering,” he continued.

Kenneally says that the banks will likely block both lawful and unlawful gambling transactions because it is virtually impossible for the banks to differentiate and identify which companies are legal and which are illegal.

While the Department of Justice has claimed in the past that all online gambling is illegal, most lawyers and virtually all of the poker industry believe that the Department has no federal law or any legitimate ground to stand on for that position. No individual has ever been charged for playing online poker, and the U.S. third circuit court of appeals even made it clear that the UIGEA did not make any kind of gambling illegal.

Only six states have laws against internet gambling, according to the Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association.

“There’s no way for the card networks, either Mastercard or the bank, to differentiate between what’s lawful and unlawful when it comes zipping through the computer network at 10,000 requests a minute,” said Kenneally, who pointed out that there were 90 billion payments in 2007 alone.

That’s why Kenneally expects banks to ban all credit and debit card transactions from companies that are coded as ‘online wagering,’ — whether they are legal or not — and he believes most banks are already doing this. Kenneally clarified that every merchant that accepts a credit card, from grocery stores to gas stations, is assigned a specific code. Banks are expected to refuse to process any transaction with a code of ‘online wagering’ after Dec. 1.

“Part of the problem is there’s no definition of what’s unlawful, and what’s unlawful for one state for one user may not be unlawful in another state under different state laws. By putting it all into one basket, you either have to accept it all or block it all,” said Kenneally. “I think a lot of banks are going to be blocking all wager codes just to play it safe.”

iMEGA Chairman Joe Brennan, Jr. says that the banks are in “an impossible situation.”

“That’s why the UIGEA is a crappy, insidious law,” said Brennan. “The law is not about saying ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the legality of Internet gambling. These guys avoided the question because in six prior years in Congress, they couldn’t get laws passed saying gambling on the Internet was illegal because even people who didn’t gamble on the Internet weren’t comfortable with government saying what people could do on the Internet.”

Kenneally has also made it clear that from the banks’ perspective, the UIGEA is a “frustrating” piece of legislation.

“In general, we’re not in favor of laws that try to enforce some kind of behavior using the payment system as the choke point,” said Kenneally. “The UIGEA is creating an awful lot of work to block what’s probably a very small percentage of transactions when you look at the payment system in general.”

The ABA vice president says that while the banks will not be forced to retroactively question companies that have already created accounts, the new regulations will now obligate them to specifically ask if a new company trying to create a bank account is in any way involved with online gambling.

Lying during this line of questioning could constitute bank fraud, one of the charges listed against Douglas Rennick, who was indicted by the Southern District of New York last month. Rennick is accused of providing payment services to online poker players through several shell companies.

“By recognizing that you can’t insert a clerk to look at each check…what the regulations writers did was they shifted the emphasis to the account-opening process,” said Kenneally. “Their sort of indirect regulatory intent was to say — if we can block unlawful Internet gambling casinos from opening up an account, that’s as good as monitoring and blocking transactions to unlawful gambling entities, because if we deny them a bank account, that’s the same as blocking payments to them.”

What effect will this have for online poker players?

Is this the beginning of the end? Hardly — although poker players may find that it takes a little bit more time to both deposit and withdraw money to and from their accounts. At least that’s the general opinion of iMEGA’s Brennan.

“You won’t see the panic that there was in ’06 when the law passed, but I think you will see a chilling until people come up with alternate offshore funding,” said Brennan. “Players may have to get used to a longer timeline for deposits and withdrawals because of the law.”

While Dec. 1 is the mandatory date that banks must begin its compliance with the regulations, Kenneally said that most banks have already begun blocking anything that is coded as Internet gambling. And still, there has not been a noticeable uproar from players in terms of how long it takes to withdraw or deposit money.

Both Kenneally and Brennan reiterated that the law does not target individuals.

Brennan believes that while the implementation of the regulations could cause a short-term dip in new players and new deposits to the sites, the industry is too robust to significantly falter.

“Online gambling — even in the face of a hostile Department of Justice, the UIGEA, the Southern District of New York going absolutely crazy, an aggressive governor in Kentucky, an aggressive attorney general’s office in Minnesota — continues to have double digit growth every year,” said Brennan.

He believes that it’s only a matter of time before states grow hungry for a cut of that booming revenue. As for when and how that situation might come to fruition, that is the topic for next installment of this series.

Check out CardPlayer.com on Monday for Part 2 of Card Player’s “What’s Next? The Future of Online Poker in the United States” series, which will focus on iMEGA’s options after its most recent court battle, and the growing possibility of intrastate poker in the United State’s future.

Table Of Contents

The United States has been a precarious place for online poker since 2011. Only a handful of states have legalized and regulated the activity, leaving thousands of poker enthusiasts looking for a place to enter real-money online games.

But there are options, even if you don't live in one of the states that offer legal online games. In this article we look at some of those options; be sure to check back as more states pass bills to allow us to play the game we love and don't forget to visit this page about online casinos in the USA if you want to play more games too!

New Jersey – The Place Where Online Dreams are Made

888poker NJ

888poker is one of the most trusted brands in poker, and with over 25 million customers around the world, there’s a reason for it.

888 offers large welcome bonuses and $10 free to get started. Players can also enjoy 888poker on their mobile devices. While players can only play one table at a time, cash games, sit & go tournaments and multi-table tournaments are all offered.

Obviously, the only downside to this U.S. poker site is that traffic is relatively low, because, there are only so many people in New Jersey who play poker.

Is Online Poker Legal In Us

So get going! Take to 888poker for all the games, bonuses and special offers.

PokerStars

The best poker software around, PokerStars New Jersey is the real deal!

Washington State Online Poker Sites

Play Nowpartypoker

partypoker has seen a major resurgence, and their New Jersey client is just as great.

Play Now888poker

888poker NJ customers can enjoy playing at the site via their favorite Android or iOS powered mobile device.

Play NowBorgata Poker

Property of the world-famous New Jersey land-based Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, Borgata Poker is available in New Jersey.

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Borgata Poker

Of all the poker rooms you could choose, BorgataPoker.com is one of the most superb, namely because it’s the official poker site of the famous Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa.

Given its large signup bonus and VIP program, players enjoy a brand that’s trustworthy and secure with a free $20 in pocket.

BorgataPoker.com offers a similar range of games as 888poker but it is also home to FastForward poker, or “fast-fold” poker, meaning you can pick up a new table if you don’t like your hole cards and fold.

WSOP.com NJ

Play for a share of $700 for free; get a 100 percent match up to $400 first deposit bonus; and have all of it be legal!

With WSOP.com NJ, online poker rooms take a new form with exciting cash games, an awesome tournament schedule and, last but not least, the opportunity to qualify for the World Series of Poker!

Play on your mobile device or take it to the desktop, but either way, this trusted name won’t let you down. Play now!

PokerStars NJ

PokerStars' unrivaled game selection makes it a top play. Considered to be the best regulated online poker site in the U.S., PokerStars NJ is the market leader with excellent customer service, great software and a lucrative VIP scheme.

There’s a reason PokerStars says “We are Poker.” Their software is available on Mac, PC, iOS and Android devices. Their welcome bonuses are the most robust in New Jersey and they run alongside great promotions.

Download PokerStars today to see what you’re missing in this online poker room!

partypoker NJ

Partypoker NJ, an operator since 2001, is a major player in the online poker tournament scene. Play all your favorite games directly from your smart phone: cash games, FastForward poker, sit & go tournaments and other casino game favorites.

While partypoker does not offer multi-table tournaments, don’t let that stop you from enjoying their major signup package or free $25 bonus. This operator regularly offers value-packed promotions, so stop procrastinating and get going at this great U.S. poker site!

Nevada – Vegas, Baby!

WSOP.com NV

WSOP.com is the only online poker site where you can not only win your way into WSOP live events, but also win a WSOP bracelet. Enough said.

With the backing of Caesars Interacting Entertainment the famous World Series of Poker brand, this U.S. poker site finds favor because it offers almost everything: a wide variety of game types and limits, 888poker software, a player pool linked with Delaware, deposit and withdrawal options at live venues and excellent customer service.

And to top it all off, if you sign up to WSOP.com from PokerNews, you can get a 100 percent match up to $400.

WSOP.com NV will make your online poker experience as enjoyable as possible. So take advantage of this state-of-the-art software and have some fun!

So, have no fear! U.S. gaming is here. These online poker sites are just waiting for you.

Anywhere But No Real-Money Element: WSOP's Social Site

You can't play for real money, but you can experience the thrill of poker anywhere in the world by logging onto WSOP's social poker site. You can play no-limit hold'em and omaha, and both ring games and tournaments. Sign up for the World Series of Poker social site via PokerNews.com, and receive 250,000 extra chips!

Finding a trustworthy room to play online poker can be a monumental burden. That's all the more true if you're just looking for a place to play poker for free. We've listed five of the best play-money poker sites to enjoy and help hone your skills.

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