It is no surprise that online poker can be credited for the dramatic increase in the number of poker players worldwide. As of March 2008, there are 600 independent doorways into a group of forty stand-alone poker network sites.
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With this increase in online poker’s popularity, it is no surprise that, from a legal perspective, issues began to arise relating to online gambling. Online poker is legal and regulated in many countries, but there has been a gradual history of Internet poker legislation.
In the US, a bill was passed in February 2005 that legalized and regulated online poker and online poker card room operators in the state of North Dakota. The Internet poker legislation was defeated by the State Senate in March after the US Department of Justice (DOJ) sent a letter to the state’s attorney general saying that online gaming “may” be illegal and that the pending legislation “might” violate the federal Wire Act.
In response to this, and other claims by the DOJ regarding the legality of online poker, many of the major online poker sites stopped advertising their sites in the American media. Instead, they created sites that were virtually identical but offered no real money wagering. These online poker sites advertised themselves as poker schools or places to learn the game for free, featuring words to the effect of “this is not a gambling website.”
On October 13 2006, President Bush officially signed into law the State Port Act, a bill that included a provision known as the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). The bill prohibits online gambling site from performing transactions with American financial institutions. As a result of the bill, several large, publicly traded online poker sites closed down their US operations. The UIGEA has had a devastating effect on the stock value of these companies.
Following the passage of the bill, former US senator Al D’Amato joined the Pokers Players Alliance (PPA). The PPA’s mission is to protect and advocate for the right of poker players to play online. In April 2008, the PPA claimed over 1 million members. Other organizations, such as the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative, have also formed in opposition to the UIGEA, to promote the freedom of individuals to gamble online with the proper safeguards.
