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Online Poker and Casino Rooms Accepting Americans
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- We are devoted to tracking what poker and casino sites that are staying open / closing to the United States along with keeping US players updated with the latest news. For informational purposes only.
New US Gambling Law FAQ
(These are common consensuses from experts across the web. Always consult a lawyer before making your own decision.)
1. Is it illegal to play online poker in the United States?
The bill which recently passed addressed deposit methods and financial institutions (banks) that allow gambling transactions. The new law makes it illegal for US banks to allow gambling related transactions so the actual legality of online poker has not changed.
2. Why did Party Poker and other sites close down and yet some sites are still open to the US?
Most of the sites that closed down when the bill was signed were the publicly traded companies. They closed down to US players to protect themselves from getting sued by their shareholders. Places like PokerStars.com are privately held companies and they have addressed the law differently and is why they stayed open. They also believe poker is a skill game so they believe their sites aren't classified as "Unlawful". Every site has different interpretations of the law.
3. So what is the deal now? Is poker banned or not?
People are still playing online poker and we are in somewhat of a grace period. The US government has 270 days from the time the bill was signed (Oct 13, 2006) to issue requirements for US banks and payment providers. Places like Neteller have already stopped serving US gambling transactions after their 2 co-founders were arrested. Many new deposit providers (listed above) have since taken their place.
4. Am I going to jail if I play online poker?
According to Gambling Law Professor, I. Nelson Rose, you will not go to jail for merly playing poker online. Again, this bill is attacking the root of the online poker industry, the deposit mechanisms. No laws have changed for online poker players. It was always a grey area before this law and remains the same. Some states have had laws against online gaming for years.
5. Why are some states not accepted at certain online casinos and poker rooms?
The reason some operators have excluded certain sites and not the whole US population is because they are interpreting the law differently. The law addresses "Unlawful Internet Gambling." This means that the casino believes the states that had pre-existing law regarding online gambling are the states affected by this new law.
6. Why would Neteller, myCitadel, Firepay and other 3rd party transaction sites even think about closing to US gamblers?
The text book answer is that they are a publicly traded company. But there is much more to it than that. Lets take Neteller for example. If the US government feels Neteller is used for illegal gambling transactions then the US government will simply stop all banks from making transactions with Neteller whether it be for gambling or not. These ewallets also went into contracts with certain gambling portals which allow sports bets to be placed among US citizens. This is against US law and is one reason the Neteller co-founders were detained. That is what's scaring a lot of these ewallet providers to back out without a shadow of a doubt.
7. When Neteller closed they stopped letting me withdraw. Will I ever get my money?
The United States Attorneys Office was said to have a warrant to seize the funds. During Neteller's meeting with the USAO, they pledged to cooperate and work out a mechanism to have funds redistributed to their customers. Neteller issued a press release on March 21 saying they have been given 75 days to find a reasonable solution to distribute funds back to players. This does NOT mean you will get funds within 75 days. So, yes you will get your money but how long...nobody knows.
8. Can I do anything to show how mad I am?
Yes you can join the Pokerplayersalliance.org. They lobby for online poker and are the biggest organization out there right now fighting for US poker players. It is free to join and every membership counts. On April 4th there were about 320,000 members but we are striving for 1,000,000.
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