How does the Law affect Your Online Poker Game?
The poker explosion can be attributed mainly to online poker rooms that made it very easy for anybody with a home computer system and an Internet access to learn poker basics and strategies. The tremendous growth in the number of poker enthusiasts all over the world has, in turn, created a boom in the online poker industry. Not a few established world class players have started their profitable professional poker careers as Internet newbies. All that it took them to be where they are right now is the dedication, discipline and the burning desire to learn and excel in the game of poker.
Starting with free play money poker games, they gradually moved on to freerolls, then low stakes games and then finally moving up to high stakes tournaments where many of them eventually earned multi-million dollar prizes. But in recent years, there have been a lot of confusion about the legality of Internet betting and many have been wondering if playing online poker is against the law. Many believe that online poker does not fall under the purview of the law against online betting, particularly the Federal Wire Act, because it is a game of skill.
While the US government has taken the position that online poker is against the law, jurisprudence does not support this view that is why up to this day, no has been arrested, prosecuted and convicted for alleged violation of this law by playing online poker. However, a certain law that was attached to the Safe Ports Act was enacted in 2006 to inhibit the ability of US citizens to gamble in the Internet without explicitly stating that playing online poker is against the law. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, or UIGEA prohibits instead all financial institutions and intermediaries in the United States from transacting with Internet gaming sites.
To avoid potential problems with the law, many online poker sites have transferred their base of operations to locations outside the jurisdiction of the United States and have ceased to accept as well American players. But preventing avid poker enthusiasts from doing what they love to do is like attempting to stop the waves from lapping at the beach. Many American poker players continue to flock in the remaining online poker sites that still accept players residing in the US despite the inconvenience of not being able to directly load money into their account from a financial institution that is based in the US. To skirt the prohibition of the law, American players look for a third party site that would transfer funds on their behalf to the gaming site of their choice.