CBS News program “60 Minutes,” which aired on Sunday night, claimed on multiple occasions that online poker was illegal in the United States. Near the top of the show, correspondent Steve Kroft narrated, “We should tell you that this $18 billion industry is illegal in the U.S.” However, is that really the case? Is online poker really illegal? Poker News Daily sat down with gambling law expert Professor I. Nelson Rose to discuss the legality of online poker.
Interestingly, Rose noted that the producers of the popular Sunday night program called him in order to ask his interpretation of whether online poker is legal. He told Poker News Daily, “I thought I made it clear to them. You can’t say for sure that online poker is illegal. There are too many variables. The show gave the false impression that it’s a crime to play poker when in fact in probably half of the states, you’re not committing any crime at all.”
Certain states such as Washington have laws on the books against playing online poker. In the case of the Pacific Northwest state, taking to the felts of an online poker room is a Class C felony, one of the harshest penalties and the equivalent of rape, according to the Washington Post. In Kentucky, Governor Steve Beshear is in the midst of trying to eradicate internet gambling by seizing 141 industry domain names unless the owners of the sites agree to block Kentucky residents. Recently, Ultimate Bet, Absolute Poker, Cake Poker, and the Merge Gaming Network have done just that. The Microgaming Network originally blocked new Kentucky residents, but has since left the U.S. market entirely.
The idea that online poker is illegal in the United States may have come from the U.S. Department of Justice. Rose stated, “The Justice Department has taken the position that cross-border betting is illegal, which also means that interstate horse racing is illegal. You can’t just talk to a prosecutor who is waging a war of intimidation and then quote them [on 60 Minutes].”
The Wire Act of 1961 states that anyone who “knowingly uses a wire communication facility for the transmission in interstate or foreign commerce of bets or wagers or information assisting in the placing of bets or wagers on any sporting event or contest” is breaking the law. Also illegal under the Act is “the transmission of a wire communication which entitles the recipient to receive money or credit as a result of bets or wagers, or for information assisting in the placing of bets or wagers.”
Rose commented that court cases involving the Wire Act have historically focused on sports betting, not on online poker: “The most important cases have held that the Wire Act only applies to sports betting. The cases have involved online casinos and online lotteries, which would indicate that it does not apply to internet poker.” In a recent House Financial Services Committee hearing, Chairman Barney Frank stated that the legality of betting on horse racing over the internet, for example, “depended on which department you asked.”
In the Washington Post newspaper article that accompanied the 60 Minutes piece, columnist Gilbert Gaul stated, “At least one federal judge has ruled that the 47-year-old law applies only to sports bets, while several legal scholars have argued that it was never intended to include online poker or other games of skill.” Jay Cohen, who was the founder of the World Sports Exchange, was charged with conspiracy to violate the Wire Act.
Rose sums up his thoughts on the legality of online poker within the borders of the United States: “There is no chance of being prosecuted if you’re a player. If you’re a company, you might be violating the law.” Many industry groups including the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) and the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative (SSIGI) have been actively pushing for the legalization and regulation of the industry, which would clear up any ambiguity that may exist as to whether online poker is permissible.
The whole sub prime financial crisis started when low income families in Cleveland and the like found themselves unable to pay their mortgages which hitherto they had been paying by juggling their finances around playing online poker.Having their own home gave them an internet connection. Winnings at the online poker tables helped the monthly outgoings and more importantly provided the feel good factor. When the wealthy irrational christian lobby persuaded George Bush to introduce legislation that effectively closed down many reliable financially sound providers of online Poker rooms such as Partygaming,the feel good factor disintegrated in the low income families resulting in the current world wide stock market crash. Do your own research!
While I do agree with Chris Le that we can blame irrational christian lobbyists for the current state of internet poker, I’m not sure how you can connect it to the current financial crisis. Internet poker has nothing to do with the mortgage crisis. Maybe I’m wrong… maybe the stock market crash is a direct result of Internet poker not being regulated.
Interesting idea Chris. I guess the last time the US irationally banned something that is legal in other countries around the World was alcohol during the prohibition of the 1920’s. And what followed that? Oh yes – the Great Depression. Perhaps you are onto something!
Your all insane to think that the sub prime “crisis” was started by legislation against online poker…It started because banks were forced to create loans for people that couldnt afford the house they were buying in order to make the country more “equal”.