The Legalization of Online Poker in the US: Why Is It Necessary?

The US government has long had reservations about legalizing online poker in the United States. To be completely objective, many lawmakers who were initially opposed to the legalization of online gambling came to realize the folly of their ways when confronted with the dilemma of coming up with the $1.5 trillion needed to cover the US debt. But how exactly they turned from opposing online poker to it now being legalized in 6 states and why is it all important? Let’s first look at the timeline of the events.

Legalization of Online Poker in Various States

It all began with the Unregulated Era, which started way back in 1997, the first online poker service was called Planet Poker. It took 9 years for an act to get introduced. It was called UIGEA, and that pesky act started a dark period in the online gambling timeline.

Several operators left the market in 2006 after UIGEA was passed. A massive scandal around Absolute Pocker rocked the market and online gambling was perceived as a fraudulent activity. It took 3 more years for a push for federal regulation.

Then came the Black Friday Era. This was a rocky period of time, lots of operators left the market, domain names were seized, and operations were ceased. And then, in June of 2011, Nevada decided to regulate online poker, and this started the Regulated Era.

The first licenses are issued, other states plan their own regulations, and New Jersey joins the party. By the way, the latest NJ gaming news you can find here. Operators open their doors, or sites, if you will. More states than ever before have considered some type of online gambling legislation during the Regulated Era. While the number of states that have approved legislation regulating poker remains tiny, the idea of national-regulated poker (or something similar) is slowly becoming a reality.

But all of that history brought upon us an era of steady expansion with some hurdles along the way, let’s look at three states and their stories of legalization.

New Jersey

Under UIGEA businesses weren’t able to receive money, thus began a long and steady push for legalization. In 2013, after previous hesitations, Chris Christie signed a bill that authorized licenses to online poker sites. New operators applied for licenses, a lot of huge casinos come in flying, and the state’s market has been on the rise ever since, setting and breaking records along the way.

Delaware

Delaware opened its doors to online gambling in 2012, but it struggled at first, with low traffic due to its small population, then the state lines were lifted and now player pools are shared.

New York

New York is likely to follow the lead of other states that have enacted legislation to legalize online poker. However, the procedure will be slower in this case.

The Necessity of the Legalization of Online Poker

Economic

Looking to New Jersey for guidance on what to expect in New York, we can see that in 2019, NJ online casino games generated over $49 million in tax revenue. The states that regulated online poker were rewarded with flourishing industries bringing a lot of revenue.

Security and privacy

People who utilize poker websites are kept secure by regulated online gambling. Many locals now have access to internet poker, but these sites may not be legitimate, jeopardizing player security and generating major issues.

Responsible gambling

There is no motivation in Pennsylvania to play online poker with unauthorized or dangerous poker operators. Regulated websites fill a market void and suit citizens’ demands while also providing the much needed guidance and information on responsible online gaming.