Poker Legal Considerations
The latest news is that there has been gambling legislation on the internet gaming industry. Basically in laymans terms US gambling affiliate sites can't have links directly to online gambling websites and Banks are not allowed to remit money to online gambling sites. The jury is still out on what exactly will happen with this legislation but for the time being pundits have suggested that people wait to see what will happen with this new legislation.
As far as personal liability is concerned in the united states gambling is govern by state regulation.
| State | Skill Disregarded | Social Gambling Allowed | Penalty for Simple Gambling | Penalty for Aggravated Gambling | Express Internet Prohibition |
| Alabama | Yes | Yes | Misdemeanor | Misdemeanor | No |
| Alaska | Yes | Yes | Misdemeanor | Felony | No |
| Arizona | Yes | Yes | Misdemeanor | Felony | No |
| Arkansas | Yes | No | Petty | Misdemeanor | No |
| California | Yes | Yes | Misdemeanor | Misdemeanor | No |
| Colorado | No | Yes | Petty | Misdemeanor | No |
| Connecticut | No | Yes | Misdemeanor | Misdemeanor | No |
| Delaware | No | Yes | Misdemeanor | Misdemeanor | No |
| Dist. of Columbia | No | Probably | Felony | Felony | No |
| Florida | Yes | $10 Limit (1) | Misdemeanor | Misdemeanor | No |
| Georgia | Yes | No | Misdemeanor | Felony | No |
| Hawaii | Yes | Yes | Misdemeanor | Felony | No |
| Idaho | Yes | No | Misdemeanor | Misdemeanor | No |
| Illinois | Yes | No | Misdemeanor | Misdemeanor | Yes |
| Indiana | No | No | Misdemeanor | Felony | No |
| Iowa | Yes | No(2) | Misdemeanor | Misdemeanor | No |
| Kansas | Yes | No | Misdemeanor | Felony | No |
| Kentucky | No | Yes | Misdemeanor | Felony | No |
| Louisiana | Yes | Yes | Misdemeanor | Felony | Yes |
| Maine | Yes | Yes | Misdemeanor | Felony | No |
| Maryland | Yes | No | Misdemeanor | Felony | No |
| Massachusetts | No | Unclear | Misdemeanor | Misdemeanor | No |
| Michigan | Yes | No (3) | Misdemeanor | Misdemeanor | No |
| Minnesota | Yes | Yes | Misdemeanor | Misdemeanor | No |
| Mississippi | Yes | No | Misdemeanor | Misdemeanor | No |
| Missouri | Yes | No | Misdemeanor (4) | Felony | No |
| Montana | Yes | Yes | Misdemeanor | Misdemeanor | No |
| Nebraska | Yes | No | Misdemeanor | Misdemeanor | No |
| Nevada | Yes | Yes | Misdemeanor | Felony | Yes |
| New Hampshire | No | No | Misdemeanor | Felony | No |
| New Jersey | Yes | Yes | Misdemeanor | Misdemeanor | No (5) |
| New Mexico | Yes | Yes | Misdemeanor | Felony | No |
| New York | Yes | Yes | Misdemeanor | Felony | No |
| North Carolina | No | No | Misdemeanor | Misdemeanor | No |
| North Dakota | No | Yes (6) | Misdemeanor | Felony | No |
| Ohio | Yes | Yes | Misdemeanor | Felony | No |
| Oklahoma | Yes | No | Misdemeanor | Felony | No |
| Oregon | Yes | Yes | Misdemeanor | Felony | Yes |
| Pennsylvania | Yes | Unclear | Misdemeanor | Misdemeanor | No |
| Rhode Island | Yes | No | Misdemeanor | Felony | No |
| South Carolina | Yes | Yes | Misdemeanor | Misdemeanor | No |
| South Dakota | Yes | No | Misdemeanor | Misdemeanor | Yes (7) |
| Tennessee | Yes | No | Misdemeanor | Felony | No |
| Texas | Yes | Yes | Misdemeanor | Misdemeanor | No |
| Utah | Yes | No | Misdemeanor | Felony | No |
| Vermont | Yes | Fine Only | Misdemeanor | Misdemeanor | No |
| Virginia | No | Yes | Misdemeanor | Felony | No |
| Washington | Yes | Yes | Misdemeanor | Felony | No |
| West Virginia | No | No | Misdemeanor | Misdemeanor | No |
| Wisconsin | Yes | No | Misdemeanor | Felony | Yes |
| Wyoming | No | Yes | Misdemeanor | Felony | No |
| Footnotes: | |||||
Footnotes:
| (1) Florida authorized licensed card rooms to offer poker limits of $2 per bet, with a limit of 3 raises per betting round, effective July 1, 2003. | |||||
| (2) Iowa permits social gambling, but only to the the extent that a player may win or lose no more than $50 or other consideration equivalent thereto in all games and activities at any one time during any period of twenty-four consecutive hours or over that entire period. See Iowa Code 99B.12(1)(g) | |||||
| (3) Michigan has exceptions for Senior citizens homes and state fairs. | |||||
| (4) Missouri's felony penalty applies only to a "professional gambler" as defined. | |||||
| (5) Senate Bill 1013 pending in the New Jersey legislature seeks to outlaw online gambling. | |||||
| (6) North Dakota has a limitation of $25 per individual hand, game or event. Betting over $25 is an infraction and it becomes a misdemeanor when the amount exceeds $500. | |||||
| (7) South Dakota's prohibition applies to those in the "gambling business." |
Source: gambling-law-us.com
A good Poker Laws Video
Updates: The State of Washington has made a law that makes playing online poker a Class C felony, with penalties that include five-year jail sentences and a $10,000 fine.
Please contact us is you find anything wrong with these findings.
