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| Online Poker and US Law |
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Online casino poker is covered by the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act which prohibits the financial transactions between U.S. players and online gambling establishments. The rules haven’t been published yet, but the law is aimed at the financial institutions that process the financial transactions since the U.S. government can’t reach the off-shore gambling establishments in their home jurisdictions.
The banning of online poker is unfortunate because many of the satellites for the top tournaments are held online. Will this result in U.S. players being banned from tournament play or will some other arrangements be worked out?There is still some hope in the United States that legislation will be enacted exempting online poker from the effects of UIGEA.
Poker is not only a game of skill and strategy, it is a bingo game in which players play against each other and not against the house. The house just takes its rake out of every pot; the players are not playing against the house. This distinguishes poker from other forms of online gambling because most other games, like roulette and craps, are played against the house.
Poker is still a form of gambling since the player is risking some of his own money at the chance of winning more money. But the casino gambling has become more socially acceptable over the past few years due to all of the publicity and television coverage of the tournaments and World Series. Many in the gambling industry are still hoping to obtain some kind of exemption for online poker. |
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