A 2011 Department of Justice interpretation of the Wire Act, one of the key potential sticking points for online gambling, specifically points to its regulations only referring to sports betting.

To keep it simple, there is no direct correlation between the striking down of PASPA and the legality of online poker in the United States. How does the Supreme Court decision on PASPA directly affect online poker's legality in the United States? Is the Supreme Court ruling a big step forward in that effort? Well. From that point in time forward, there have been only a few small steps towards re-establishing online poker in the United States. players until Ap- a day that's come to be known as 'Black Friday' - when PokerStars, Full Tilt, Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker were shut down. In October 2006, the uncertain legal status of online poker in the United States was defined by the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), which caused a number of companies to exit the market.Ĭompanies like PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker continued to serve U.S. In 2003, Chris Moneymaker won his way into the World Series of Poker via an online satellite tournament, won the tournament and caused an explosion of popularity in both online and live poker.

Online poker has its roots as far back as 1998, with Planet Poker offering the first real money online games in the United States. With Monday's Supreme Court ruling that struck down PASPA, clearing the way for states to legalize sports betting, a natural question that followed was how other skill-heavy forms of gambling - namely poker - might be affected. You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browserĭoes the SCOTUS sports betting ruling help in the legalization efforts of online poker?

Online poker legal states