An online poker ban in the United States was first proposed in the late 1990s by then-Senator Joe Biden. The bill was introduced in both the House and Senate in 2001, but did not receive enough support to pass. In 2006, the US Department of Justice issued a memorandum to state attorneys general urging them to prosecute those who engage in online poker. The memorandum cited concerns that online poker was a form of illegal gambling.
In February 2013, New Jersey became the first state to legalize online poker, although regulated by the state rather than by the federal government. As of 2018, nine states have enacted lAWS legalizing online poker: Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Utah. The other 43 states have banned or are contemplating banning online poker.
The primary basis for the US Department of Justice’s 2006 memorandum was a study by Dr. Lawrence Reuter of the University of Nevada at Las Vegas that determined that players at online poker sites accounted for 38 percent of all money lost at illegal gambling sites.
However, other studies have found that percentage is much lower, typically no more than 2 percent. Additionally, many people who gamble online do so legally outside of poker sites.
Supporters of the ban argue that there is no safe way to gamble online and that professional players are exploiting new technologies to cheat their way to big profits. They also contend that children are susceptible to becoming addicted to Internet gambling and that problem gambling is being glamorized through televised coverage of professional poker competitions.
Opponents of the ban point out that many people who gamble online do so responsibly and that professional players are not able to exploit technological advances to their advantage. They also argue that legalizing online poker would bring in much-needed money into state coffers and create jobs in regulated industries.
