Online Poker Sites Legal In Us

admin  4/3/2022
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What’s Legal And What’s Soon To Be Legal. The history of online poker in the United States is complicated to say the least. Even in the last decade, laws prohibiting online poker rooms were challenged and upheld. Bills to legalize real money poker sites were passed in the House Finance Committee only to be struck down by the Supreme Court, etc. What States Is Online Poker Legal? Published by Jesse December 14, 2020 Categorie(s): Casino News, Poker. There are four states that you can legally play online poker for real money in the United States of America. That is, you can play in Delaware, New Jersey, Nevada, and Pennsylvania. Best Legal Online Texas Hold’Em Poker Sites. The following sites have been vetted by our team of industry professionals and determined to be the best options for USA online poker players. Each of theses sites are located offshore and have the legal licenses to service the US. In addition they all have a trusted reputation and multiple bonus.

Are you looking for the best US legal online poker sites or a real money poker app? If the answer is yes, then you came to the right place. This is one of our many online poker reviews where you can find more about the best online poker options.

Without further ado, keep reading to discover how to play the best online poker for money and how to form an online poker strategy. So, let’s get started!

Contents

Best Legal Online Poker Sites

  1. WSOP
  2. PartyPoker
  3. PokerStars
  4. Pala Poker
  5. 888poker
  6. Global Poker

Is online poker legal? It's not always the same as legal online casinos and legal online sportsbooks. All new players who decide to explore the vast universe of real money poker sites should know that federally, online poker sites are illegal. However, on the individual level, online poker is legal in some of the states.

Some websites such as Global Poker (which is a sweepstakes poker site) are allowed in 49 out of 50 US states. Only Washington does not allow it. At the moment of writing our online poker reviews, only four states offer legal online poker websites in the United States. These are the following: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware.

For more information about some of the available sites, make sure to consult our Global Poker review.


US Legal Online Poker: State by State

Is online poker legal in your state? If the answer is no, keep in mind that the situation can change pretty quickly. Unsurprisingly, Nevada was the leader of regulated online poker. Once the ice was broken, the domino-effect followed.

One by one, many states tried or are still trying to pass the legislation. As you can see, some of them even succeeded. The last one to recently pass online poker is West Virginia, and we expect more legal US poker sites to be launched in the future.

When it comes to future predictions, we believe that chances are pretty good for some of the states to overcome all the legal obstacles and finally launch real money poker sites so their residents become able to play legal online poker.

Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio, New York are some of the states that’ll probably make some innovations when it comes to the possibilities of playing poker online. These are the states that have active supporters of online poker in the state senate.

What’s more, regulated real money poker sites in neighboring states can only have a positive effect on public opinion. Additionally, within the borders of the aforementioned states, you can find a considerable number of land-based casinos.

Many of them come with the best online poker rooms where you can play various variants of poker, including the most popular one - Texas Hold’em. In other words, these poker offline options make it easier to launch legal poker sites and eventually start to offer legal online poker.

States Where Legal Online Poker Seems Like a Distant Dream

From this point of view, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah are just some of the states where we can see a certain legislative hostility towards online gambling. Therefore, we don’t believe that we won’t be able to play Texas Hold’em online there for quite some time.

Sweepstakes Legal Online Poker - Play Poker Free No Matter Which State You’re In

As said before, Global Poker, a sweepstakes legal online poker site, can be accessed in all US states except for the state of Washington. This legal online poker platform was launched in 2106, and since then, many players use its services. The virtual currency gaming business model is what makes it unique.

Instead of playing for real money, players play poker free, using gold coins or sweeps cash. That’s why Global Poker often appears when players search for “play poker free” or “play poker online, free”.

To understand how sweepstakes poker works, let’s start with some poker basics and make sure to understand sweeps poker terminology clearly. There’s a difference between gold coins and sweeps cash, and there’s a reason for which “play poker online, free” is actually a bit of a misnomer here.

Gold Coins are the name for the virtual currency in Global Poker, and they are equivalent to what regular legal online poker sites usually call “play money”. In other words, you can’t cash them out, but you can use them to play Texas Hold’em online or participate in some of the available tournaments with other players. On the other hand, “$weeps cash” is a promotional, virtual currency that can be cashed out through PayPal.

To sum up, you can buy gold coins that don’t have any monetary value and can’t be cashed out. “$weeps cash” is obtained as free of charge once you buy Gold Coins. Because of this virtual currency online poker model, Global Poker is not quite considered an online gambling activity. Therefore, it’s allowed in almost all of the US.

Where Can I Play Legal Online Poker in the US?

Pennsylvania is the last state where online poker had become legal when PokerStars was launched there at the end of 2019. Right now that’s also the only available option to play online poker for money in Pennsylvania.

If we don’t count Global Poker, which can be accessed in 49 states, all the other legal online poker sites come with pretty restricted access. For example, Pala Poker and PartyPoker are only available in the state of New Jersey.

However, they are not the only NJ poker sites one can access. WSOP, America's top legal online poker site, is available in the Garden State, and it’s also accessible to all Nevada online poker fans as well. Likewise, PokerStars NJ, available both independently and within the FOX Bet app

Claim the WSOP promo code in New Jersey and Nevada to get a $1,000 signup bonus!

Where Can I Play Poker Live?

Most of the land-based casinos across different states include special poker rooms where you can play live poker. Playing Texas Hold’em online is definitely the most popular option. After all, poker is an American thing, so it’s no wonder to see it available in the vast majority of mortar and bricks casinos.

In fact, instead of listing all the states where you can sit back, relax and try out your luck with live poker, it’s better to list all those where you can’t play poker online. It’ll be easier to remember this list:

  • Alaska
  • Georgia
  • Hawaii
  • New Hampshire
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Utah

We must add that in Texas, private poker clubs aren’t forbidden. As long as no house makes a profit from the game, poker can be played in private places for fun.

US Online Poker Basics

When talking about the current status of legal US poker sites, there are two especially important laws that you should be aware of. Let’s take a look at these two federal laws that govern online poker in the country.

The Wire Act

The first one is the Interstate Wire Act of 1961, often called the Federal Wire Act. As you can see, it passed long before online poker or even the internet existed. However, it prohibits certain types of betting businesses to operate via wired communications.

In 2011, the US Department of Justice concluded that the scope of the act was limited to sporting events. Therefore, states, where online poker is now regulated, found that the bill didn’t apply to online poker nor other forms of gambling.

However, in 2019, the US Department of Justice reversed its opinion. The new opinion concludes that the Wire Act applies to all types of online gambling.

The UIGEA

The other relevant law is the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) from 2006. This law made it illegal for US banks to proceed with transactions for offshore gambling companies. That’s how they were pushed out of the market.

History of US Legal Online Poker

Online casinos started to appear back in 1994. They were usually situated in Antigua or the Isle of Man. However, the vast majority of their users were US-based customers. Two years later, in 1996, online gambling was also brought to the North American market soil.

The Kahnawake Gaming Commission was established just outside Montreal. They started issuing licenses, and pretty soon, it was possible to find hundreds of new online gambling websites.

Once again, two years later and again in Canada, the first-ever poker online website saw the light of day. Planet Poker was the favorite source of fun to thousands of Americans who were spending endless hours playing the first real-money online Texas Hold’em.

Over the next few years, thanks to technological advances, better online poker software was developed, while the number of websites kept increasing. These online poker operators also started to offer various tournaments and cash games and got a solid fan base all over the world.

The Industry Kept Growing & Then It Collapsed

Even though there were different interpretations of the law, especially of the famous Wire Act, the newly developed industry kept growing.

The year 2003 is especially important in the evolution of online poker. Using an account from Tennessee, Chris Moneymaker won the World Series of Poker after participating in the event through an online satellite. In Chris Moneymaker's case, we guess, it's okay to say that name determines destiny.

This online poker strategy was live-streamed on ESPN. Suddenly, the whole nation knew about Chris's story. A good number of Americans were hoping to be the next. All of a sudden, poker was everywhere on TV. Live games were followed carefully, and commercial breaks had one purpose: promoting online poker for money and playing Texas Hold 'em online.

The great number of promoted sites were, in fact, offshore online poker sites. A lot of them disappeared from American browsers after Congress passed the above-mentioned UIGEA in 2006.

However, even though a lot of sites weren't accessible anymore, online poker couldn't be erased that easily. Some of the offshore gambling companies had found a way around the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006, but not for long.

In 2011, some of the largest online poker operators, including PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker/Ultimate Bet, were accused of violating UIGEA and money laundering. These websites were definitely excluded from the significant US online poker market, which seemed to come to an end at the time.

Legal Online Poker Sites Rise Again

Also in 2011, the DOJ released a legal opinion that the Federal Wire act exclusively applied only to one form of gambling: sports betting. A few states saw this as a possibility, paving the way to regulated online casinos and legal US poker sites.

In 2012, Delaware was the first state that managed to do just that. Then, in December 2013, Nevada followed the example of passing online poker legislation. A week later, the Garden State became the third to legalize online gambling, and plans for NJ poker sites were made.

The first-ever regulated US online poker site was launched in Nevada in April 2013. Delaware and NJ poker sites went live that same year, a few months later. In 2017, Pennsylvania became the fourth state to join this group. West Virginia is the fifth state where online poker was regulated in 2019. Probably, more states will try to do the same thing in the near future.

Which State is Next?

Is online poker legal in California or New York? This is one of the frequently asked questions that people search for in the USA. They also search for different terms of poker terminology that sound unfamiliar to them. However, that’s another question that we could discuss on some other occasion.

Let’s get back to our question of legal online poker sites and the possible new markets in the USA. Michigan has made significant efforts to legalize online gambling, particularly online poker, while California, New York, and Massachusetts also seem to be moving in the right direction.

Real Money Poker App: How to Find the Best Poker App

It doesn’t matter if you are a Pennsylvania online poker fan or a regular visitor of NJ poker sites, the good news is that you can play poker whenever you want, anywhere within the borders of one or the other state.

Many of the best online poker websites have launched a dedicated real money poker app that you can easily download and install on your device. The best poker apps are available for both iOS and Android operating systems.

In order to find the best poker app, make sure you visit one of the websites we listed at the beginning of our review.

Also, before you replace your poker offline adventure with the one that can be found on the internet, make sure to read some of the online poker reviews and get to know the poker terminology used by the players worldwide. After a brief introduction to the poker basics, it’s time to create your own online poker strategy and join one of the legal online poker communities!

Because state laws on gambling vary widely from one part of the US to another, it’s important to understand the differences between laws regarding poker play in different parts of the country.

Here’s a quick breakdown of each of the 50 states and what those state governments have decided regarding the legality of poker play in all its various forms within state borders.

US Poker Laws by State - Click Your State Below!

Poker Laws in Alabama

Alabama residents have lots of choices for casino gambling, thanks to large numbers of tribal gaming options in the state, but online poker is more convenient than travelling to a land-based casino within Alabama borders.

The state of Alabama has never convicted a single citizen for playing at an online casino. The state doesn’t have any laws about online casino or poker play, and thanks to new opinions at the federal level about the 1961 Wire Act, citizens of the Heart of Dixie can play online poker to their heart’s content.

Poker Laws in Alaska

Alaskan citizens aren’t at risk for being arrested when playing poker online, though state law makes it illegal for online gaming providers to operate on Alaskan soil. Alaskans themselves are free and clear to place wagers on Internet poker games. Alaskans don’t have many options when it comes to poker play in land-based casinos, so online poker is popular among the state’s citizens

Legal Gambling in Arkansas

Residents of Arkansas can place bets at online poker sites without worry of prosecution. Arkansas residents have only a few casino properties within driving distance, so online poker is often the most convenient way to get poker action.

In The Natural Sate, no arrests or convictions have ever been handed down related to online poker play or private poker games. Arkansas is not one of the handful of states that have strict laws against online gambling or private games, so Arkansas citizens can place wagers on poker without worrying about being prosecuted or having their gambling accounts seized.

Gambling & Poker: Laws in Arizona

Plenty of regulated poker options thanks to widespread presence of licensed casinos in the state. Poker rooms are popular and active at major Arizona casinos. Home poker games also legal in Arizona (under conditions detailed by state law). Other forms of real-money poker possibly violate state law.

Gambling & Poker Laws in California

California is The Land of Sunshine and Opportunity, and residents of California have the opportunity to gamble on poker games without fear of prosecution. Californians have pretty easy access to land-based casino gaming, but online poker games are far more convenient. Not only have there never been any arrests made in California for online gambling, the state’s penal code doesn’t cover online gaming at all, meaning there is no law on the books to prosecute online gamblers.

Gambling Laws in Colorado

Residents of Colorado are welcome to play poker online or in home games without fear of prosecution. Colorado residents don't have as many land-based casino gaming options as other Americans, so citizens of the Rocky Mountain Empire turn to private home games and online poker to get their fix. Eight states in America have specific laws on the books against online gambling of any kind, but Colorado is not one of them.

Poker Laws in Connecticut

Legal

Residents of Connecticut are not only welcome to play at existing online poker sites or in home games; they may soon be some of the first Americans to play at state-regulated poker sites. The Constitution State is set to offer online poker and casino gaming through existing tribal gaming entities. Connecticut is one of the most poker-friendly states in the nation.

Legal Poker in Delaware

Residents of Delaware are among the luckiest in the country when it comes to legal poker play - state laws in The First State don’t address online poker play and are relatively friendly to private poker games.

Legal Gambling in Florida

Residents of the Sunshine State that want to play poker have a lot of options to choose from – tribal gaming sites offering poker games dot the state, and online poker is still technically legal within state lines.

Gambling Laws in Georgia

Residents of Georgia do not face any kind of prosecution for playing poker online or in most private home games. There are even a few tribal gaming properties offering poker play at land-based casinos in the Peach State. The state government has yet to make a law against online or private poker play.

Hawaii Poker Laws

The Aloha State is not interested in prosecuting online poker or casino players, so even though Hawaiians have no access to traditional casino gaming, Internet poker games are totally safe for Hawaiian citizens. The state’s tourism board has yet to allow land-based casino play, for fear of competition for tourist dollars, but Internet poker and private home games are safe.

Idaho Poker Laws

Residents of Idaho should not fear arrest or prosecution for playing poker online or in home games. There has never been a single arrest in the Gem State related to online casino or poker play - Idaho is not one of the eight states that put anti-online casino gambling laws on the books.

Poker & Gambling Laws in Illinois

The state of Illinois has one of the toughest sets of laws against online casino and poker play of any American state. Illinois is one of a handful of states that’s put laws on the books forbidding Internet casino and poker gambling. The good news is the biggest penalties apply to people who operate illegal casinos, not players. Besides, Illinois poker players enjoy easy access to legal land-based poker play. The Land of Lincoln is stuffed with traditional poker room and gambling venues.

If you live in Indiana and want to play poker, you may be putting yourself at risk for prosecution. Indiana's state law makes it a felony to provide gambling online and a misdemeanor to join and to play at online casinos and poker rooms. Indiana also has a 'professional gamblers' statute that can lead to a felony conviction if your poker play reaches a certain level. Playing poker online in The Hoosier State is risky. However, to date no player has been arrested for playing at an online poker site within Indiana’s borders.

Legal Gambling in Iowa

Residents of Iowa who want to play poker are in luck – America’s Break Basket has one of the most poker-friendly sets of state laws in the USA. Since Iowa residents cannot easily travel to land-based poker play, lacking many options for traditional poker in casinos inside state lines, online poker is both legal and convenient. Iowa’s gambling-friendly state laws allow for private poker games as well.

Poker Laws in Kansas

Poker players in Kansas have a number of options when it comes to their gambling venue. The state has a few tribal gaming site offering legal poker games, and the state doesn’t have laws limiting or making online poker play illegal. Though Kansas is not yet considering offering state-licensed online poker games, you can play poker online within Kansas state lines with impunity.

Legal Gambling in Kentucky

The state of Kentucky is not one of those parts of America where tribal gaming or other casino options are widely available. However, the state government has made no attempt to make online gambling or playing online poker illegal. Residents of the Bluegrass State that want to get a taste of Texas Holdem action can turn to Internet games without fear of prosecution.

Legal Louisiana Poker

The state of Louisiana may be the best-known crusader against online gambling. The state’s 'gambling by computer' law was one of the first in the nation to make any kind of wager placed over the Internet illegal. Fortunately for poker fans, citizens of Louisiana have plenty of riverboat and tribal gaming casinos to pick from, and the Louisiana government is considering the tax-and-regulate model for Internet poker play over the next couple of years. Even though Louisiana is one of the few US states with laws against poker games online, no citizen the state has ever been arrested under these laws.

Because Maine citizens can’t easily drive to a casino or poker room, playing poker and other games of skill and chance at online casinos is the most convenient way to gamble. Good news for Mainers – there’s no state law they can be prosecuted for when placing online poker bets, and restrictions on private poker games are minor.

Poker Laws in Maryland

The state government of Maryland has not made any noise about running their own licensed online casino and poker games, but citizens of Maryland who want to play poker can place bets at online casinos without fear of arrest. People who live in Baltimore or Chevy Chase are just a short road trip from casinos in nearby states, but a lack of laws against online poker make Internet poker play far more convenient.

Legal Poker in Massachusetts

Online Poker Sites Legal In Us

Citizens of Massachusetts can place all the wagers they want at poker websites without fear of prosecution by the state or seizure of their bankrolls. No Massachusetts laws exist making Internet poker play illegal. Plenty of gaming sites offering land-based poker are within a day’s drive, and the state’s restrictions on home games are minimal as well.

Legal Gambling in Michigan

The state of Michigan currently allows people to place all the wagers they want on Internet poker games. Poker fans can also take advantage of plentiful tribal casinos in and near Michigan, but online poker is far more convenient, especially since no laws exist to make online play illegal.

Poker Laws in Minnesota

States with large Native American populations, like Minnesota, tend to have a variety of tribal gaming casinos open for all types of gambling. Minnesotans can also play online poker games, which are easier to access than poker rooms in land-based casinos. With no laws in the Minnesota penal code addressing online gambling, poker players shouldn’t fear arrest or prosecution for making poker bets over the Internet.

Poker Laws in Mississippi

The state of Mississippi is full of gambling options - riverboat casinos, tribal casinos, and even small roadside gaming sites offer poker and casino play twenty-four hours a day. Online poker games are also a popular choice for citizens of Mississippi, since state law does not allow for any prosecution of Internet poker or casino gamblers.

Poker Law in Missouri

The state law of Missouri does not address Internet gambling, so online poker players are not at risk of being arrested or having their player account seized. State-regulated land-based casinos are plentiful in Missouri, but because there are no anti-online gambling laws in the state penal code, online poker and other forms of gambling are popular. The convenience of gambling from home (and the lack of laws against online gambling) makes Missouri a poker player’s paradise.

Gambling Laws in Montana

Montana is one of the eight American states with laws against Internet gambling in their penal code. The state law in Montana states clearly that all forms of gambling over the Internet are illegal. Montana also has one of the more strict versions of anti-online poker laws – a single wager can lead to a misdemeanor, and if a citizen is convicted more than twice, he faces felony arrests and hefty fines.

Legal Gambling in Nebraska

Nebraska residents don’t have easy access to land-based casinos, so poker players often turn to Internet games to get their Texas Holdem or Omaha fix. The state law contains no language against online gambling, and no citizen of the Cornhusker State has ever been arrested for placing an Internet wager.

New Hampshire's Poker Laws & Regulations

Poker occupies a strange position thanks to the unique definition of gambling found in New Hampshire law. Despite that, regulated poker is fairly rare in the state, existing only in the form of charitable-based gambling events approved by approved by state government. The situation is evolving as more land-based gambling comes to New Hampshire.

Poker Laws in New Jersey

When New Jersey Governor Chris Christie stated publicly that he wanted New Jersey to be “the global center of online poker play,” online poker players rejoiced. The state legislature is currently working on the first set of laws in the country allowing for legal online poker play provided by the state. Citizens of the Garden State should not fear prosecution for placing bets at online poker games, and in fact are looking forward to playing fully-legal online games controlled and taxed by the state government.

Legal Poker in New Mexico

The state of New Mexico lacks any law against online gambling, so New Mexico residents are free and clear to place bets at online poker rooms. New Mexico residents have a few options when it comes to casino gambling, with some tribal properties operating in the state, but online poker is easier to access and (based on state law) 100% legal.

Legal Poker / Gambling in Nevada

Nevada offers what might be the largest amount of ways to legally wager in the entire United States, both in terms of sheer volume of regulated betting and number of unique ways to place a legal bet. Poker players enjoy the maximum number of options - and the lowest legal liability - in the state of Nevada.

Legal New York Gambling Laws

Between a large number of land-based gaming sites and a lack of laws against online gambling, residents of New York enjoy a wide variety of poker options. In The Empire State, there are no laws controlling online gambling, and no New York citizen has ever been arrested for wagering on Internet poker.

Poker Laws in North Carolina

If you live in North Carolina, your options for casino gambling of any kind are a bit limited. Many North Carolina citizens travel up the coast to Atlantic City for their casino play. However, since the state doesn’t have a law against online wagering, lovers of poker in the First in Flight State can join online poker rooms and place bets without fear of arrest.

Legal North Dakota Poker Laws

Residents of North Dakota can legally place wagers on poker and other casino games online because the state does not have any laws against Internet gambling. This is important, since North Dakota residents don't have easy access to land-based gaming. In the Peace Garden State, there have never been any arrests for online casino gambling, and the state is not considering making Internet wagering illegal as of this writing.

Gambling Laws in Ohio

Gamblers in Ohio enjoy a lot of access to gambling, from land-based casinos (some operated by tribal groups, others licensed by the state) to fully legal wagers at Internet poker rooms. Ohio citizens looking for poker games don’t face prosecution by the state or federal government for wagering online. The Buckeye State has yet to arrest any citizen for gambling online, and there is no law in the state penal code that makes Internet poker betting a crime.

Poker Laws in Oklahoma

Oklahoma has one of the largest Native American populations in the US, so tribal casinos are big business in the state. Poker players who live in Oklahoma can also wager online without fear of arrest, because of a lack of state laws against online betting. Long story short, poker laws in Oklahoma are player-friendly.

Poker Laws in Oregon

The state of Oregon has one of the toughest sets of laws against poker and other casino gambling of any state in the US. According to state law, wagers on the Internet of any kind can lead to a Class C felony. Since placing even a single wager at an Internet poker game makes you a felon in Oregon, citizens of the Beaver State that want to play poker have to take a road trip to a nearby legal land-based venue. Home game law is also very strict; Oregon is one of the worst states for a poker player to live in.

Legal Gambling in Pennsylvania

Residents of Pennsylvania enjoy easy access to poker – the state and neighboring states are stuffed with land-based casinos, and citizens of the Liberty Bell State aren’t up against any laws that make online poker bets illegal. Laws about private poker games in Pennsylvania are liberal and the ability to play poker on the Internet or at traditional casinos means Pennsylvanians enjoy among the lightest set of restrictions on poker play.

Poker Laws in Rhode Island

Rhode Island residents do not face any anti-online gambling laws, meaning they can play poker at the American-facing Internet poker room of their choice without fear of arrest or prosecution. If you live in the Ocean State, you can play poker at land-based casinos or online without worrying about breaking state law. Rhode Island has no law against placing bets at online games of poker.

Poker Laws in South Carolina

In the Palmetto State, online poker bets are completely legal. No arrests have ever been made in South Carolina for online gambling, thanks to a lack of state laws against online betting. South Carolina doesn’t have a ton of land-based poker rooms, but citizens can take a road trip to find a live poker game, or have a private game in their own home, all without fear of arrest.

Poker Laws in South Dakota

The state of South Dakota’s online gambling law is similar to the strict laws in Oregon. Both states punish online poker players who make a single bet with a felony. South Dakota has some of the strictest anti-online poker and casino laws in America, so South Dakota gamblers who want to play poker should limit their games to state-licensed casinos. The Mount Rushmore State has yet to arrest anyone for playing poker online, but the laws exist, and they are strict.

Located in a part of the country where Native American tribes run dozens of major casino gambling venues, Tennessee is a state where poker players have easy access to the game they love. A lack of laws in the state code against online poker means you can play poker online without worrying about being branded a felon or paying a fine to the state.

Legal Poker Laws in Texas

Texas citizens can play poker online, thanks to the fact that the state government has yet to make online gambling illegal. As for land-based poker play – that’s a bit tougher to find. The Lone Star State has such a large border that gamblers can easily hop over to another nearby state where tribal gaming is legal. Laws on private poker games exist, but they’re not any stricter than other state private poker game laws. No Texas citizen has ever been arrested for wagering on Internet poker games.

Poker Laws in Utah

In some parts of Utah, Native American tribes have opened legal state-licensed poker rooms and casinos, so some citizens of the state can play poker at a live game just a few miles away. As for online poker, no Utah law exists that makes it illegal to play poker online.

Gambling Legally in Vermont

State definition of gambling clearly covers games of poker played with real money. No live poker rooms exist in Vermont. Even home poker games may be frowned upon, at least by the letter of state law. Poker players can take part in state-approved charitable poker events. Alternative forms of real-money poker are potentially illegal in Vermont.

Legal Gambling Laws in Virginia

Because of the legalization and state licensure of online poker in nearby Washington, DC, the state of Virginia may soon be one of the first to provide poker and other casino games to its citizens over the Internet. For now, no Virginian online poker rooms exist, but the state does not have any law against playing at America-facing poker websites.

Legal Poker Laws in Washington

The state of Washington is one of the newest anti-online gambling states in the US. In 2006, the state made any wager placed online an automatic misdemeanor, with repeat convictions leading to felony penalties. The state clearly makes all online wagering illegal, and if you were prosecuted under Washington law for playing online poker, you would face high fines and the seizure of some of your assets. Want to play poker in Washington? Organize a private game (that follows the state’s regulations on home poker games) or drive to a traditional casino site. Online poker is illegal in Washington.

Poker Laws in West Virginia

West Virginians are free to bet online; poker players in the state can wager at any Internet poker room that accepts US bets. Some traditional casino poker venues exist in West Virginia, and the state regulates that type of gambling. Home poker games are allowed, under specific conditions set by state law.

Poker Laws in Wisconsin

In Wisconsin, a lack of state laws against online gambling mean citizens who want to play poker on the Internet don’t face any prosecution by the government. Wisconsin has a few land-based casinos, and live poker play is also available in home games as long as those games follow state restrictions.

Poker Laws in Wyoming

Residents of Wyoming have easy legal access to poker and other casino games. Wyoming residents have a few options for land-based gaming within state borders, or they can place poker bets online without fear of prosecution. The state has no laws against placing bets online.