That is a tricky question. Firstly, always check the law in the area you live to answer that question once and for all. For the purposes of this article we will take a look at SOME internet poker law, since internet poker legislation is going to vary every time you cross a border somewhere. In general terms, yes, internet poker is legal. The problem is defining what internet poker IS to determine if is the target of internet poker legislation or if it is just a harmless game.
This is a hot topic most of the time, but especially now with the online poker USA situation. Poker online in the USA has come under fire from the US Government, so much so that more than a dozen online poker rooms have had their domain names locked down, starting in Mid April. Internet poker law has always been a murky thing when it comes to online poker in the USA. While no federal law outlaws playing poker online in the USA, it is illegal for companies to process payments to online poker rooms. This internet poker law was enacted in 2006 was designed to cripple online poker in the USA. This led to many asking if internet poker was legal. Technically it was, because there were no laws preventing playing poker online in the USA, the internet poker legislation focused solely on the payment transactions.
But when it comes to playing poker online there are many ways to do so that don't have anything to do with the poker rooms targeted by the US department of Justice. If you are interested in playing online poker you don't have to play at the online poker rooms that are part of the controversy. There are plenty of places that offer online poker that are simply games, free to play, with no way to gamble or win money. This mostly avoids the entire question of “is internet poker legal” because most internet poker law has less to do with poker and more to do with gambling. Internet poker legislation might be better phrased as “gambling” legislation, but folks are curious about poker in particular, and rightly so.
As far as the US and online poker goes, while many may point to what is going on as a sign of the end, in reality the end is far from in sight. As many folks who view the shut down of US access to poker rooms and the arrest of poker room owners as a massive blow, many see it as an oppenning gambit towards getting online poker legal and registered in the US. Only time will tell.
Even if you are not a poker player in the US, online poker in the USA should be a concern for you, because how playing poker online in the USA is affected may have big impact on how it is played in your area in the future.
