Live vs Online Poker: Legal Distinctions
There are obvious differences between live and online poker, such as how and where people play them. There are then many, many contrasts between the two types of poker regarding the speed of play and skills involved to the types of events offered and their availability.
Those are the topics of countless blog posts and articles, podcasts and videos.
One of the biggest distinctions between live and online poker is legality, which is often left out of those conversations. It can get complicated. For example, differences include:
- Laws for online and live poker
- Regulatory bodies
- Federal, state, and local oversight
- Ways of detecting cheating
- Rules of play
- Repercussions for law violations
Legal Framework for Live Poker
Every country in the world sets its own laws and regulations for poker in live settings. And in some countries, like Canada and the United States, each state or province within that country sets its own laws in lieu of federal statutes.
In the US, for example, the federal government has mostly chosen to remove itself from gambling decisions. While there are some laws, like the Wire Act, that regulate certain forms of gambling that have been problematic in the past, the US government doesn’t want to do much more. Therefore, each state chooses whether or not to legalize poker.
States that allow live poker must decide the form it may take. Some states allow only play-money poker or poker with limits on the amount of money that can be won or lost. Other states allow poker only for charitable interests and not for profit. On one end of the spectrum, there is Utah, which forbids all forms of poker and gambling. On the other side, there is Nevada, where its economy depends greatly upon the gambling industry.
Legal Framework for Online Poker
Online poker operates in much the same way, though has only become the case in the past 10 to 15 years.
When the internet first introduced poker online, there were few rules. Websites often reached around the globe, as far as technology could take them. But as the games became more prevalent and popular, governments decided to legislate accordingly.
Some countries, like France and Italy, took action to make online poker legal or illegal on a nationwide level. Others, like the United States, had a tougher time creating a federal law that wouldn’t infringe upon states’ rights. The US Congress pass the UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) in 2006 to try to prohibit online poker, but lawmakers didn’t anticipate the plethora of offshore-based sites that would defy or work around such laws.
Online poker in the US is primarily legalized or prohibited on a state-by-state basis. Some states have chosen not to act, lumping online poker in with other forms of gambling. Most, however, realized that the internet requires specific laws to regulate what happens there. Some states – Nevada, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, West Virginia, Connecticut, and Rhode Island – have legalized online poker within their individual virtual state lines. All of those states but Nevada also legalized online casino games to partner with poker for maximized revenue.
Key Differences Between Live and Online Poker
The primary difference between live and online poker is the ability to police it. Live poker takes place in a location, which can be detected and monitored by local, state, or federal law enforcement agencies. Online poker is virtual, using high-level technology and the ability to operate from unknown locations and to reach many more people.
Gambling regulators have developed technology to regulate online poker. Geolocation can detect the location of someone logging in to play at a website. It helps monitor who plays on regulated sites. Operators not regulated by a state authority, however, can offer online poker much more broadly. They are often only detectable by their financial transactions, i.e. how players deposit and withdraw money using traditional banking methods. Since cryptocurrencies operate outside that sphere, for the most part, players can use crypto to play on offshore sites with little oversight.
Law enforcement agencies can much more easily monitor and enforce laws regarding live poker. They are still trying to figure out how to effectively and accurately monitor online activity.
Challenges and Advantages for Players Live and Online
From a player’s perspective, the varying laws and regulations can be confusing and frustrating. There are some clear disadvantages to the current poker landscape.
- Traveling players must the rules that vary every time they travel to another state or province.
- Online poker players may need to have separate accounts and banking methods for various states and countries per the laws…or lack of laws.
- Live poker buy-in rules, limitations, and banking methods can vary from state to state.
- Online sites may change banking options based on changes to laws or bank regulations.
- Authorities vary per jurisdiction for reporting illegal or suspicious behavior.
- State-regulated poker sites can have few stake/game options due to a lack of liquidity.
- Much online poker oversight is dependent upon players bringing issues and concerns to forums and social media.
On the other hand, there are some advantages to the legal differences from live to online, and from one location to another. Players have more choices than ever before in both realms. To be more specific, there are some key advantages to the changing legal landscape.
- Players can choose the state or online poker site that best suits their level of play – their preferred buy-ins or stakes, player pool sizes, etc.
- More competition leads online and live poker rooms to offer better promotions.
- More options for poker play allow the game to fit into various players’ lives, especially for recreational and semi-pro players.
Evolving Legal Landscape and Future Trends
In the world of live poker, there are still a few states in America that prohibit or severely limit the game. Texas and Georgia are two of the most well-known examples of states with great demand for live poker cash games and tournaments but little representation in state legislatures. Players have taken matters into their own hands by establishing private membership clubs, though they all face the danger of police raids or lawsuits.
The only way to change this is to inform lawmakers as to the skill component of poker, the peer-to-peer play that differentiates poker from other forms of gambling. If lawmakers would legalize the game in more states, it would establish formal oversight and eliminate many of the dangers players currently face.
Online poker is changing over time, but that change is slow – painfully slow. Since Black Friday, the new US online poker landscape has been slow to form and grow.
The overall best picture for online poker is for many states to legalize the game and for all state governors to sign the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA). This will allow operators to connect their sites over state lines, creating the kind of liquidity that will make online poker thrive. However, the only lobbying organization that is informing lawmakers about online poker is the iDevelopment and Economic Association (iDEA), and it does not involve or interact with the greater poker community about its actions and movements.
Responsible Gaming and Legal Awareness
Poker players in states with regulated online poker are protected by state laws in many ways, including with knowledge about responsible gambling. Sites with state poker licenses must disseminate a certain amount of responsible gambling information, such as showing warning logos and messages offering assistance on their sites and in correspondence with players.
Online poker operators based offshore often do this as well, though there is often not a mandated level of information to publish or send to players.
The best thing is for players to stay informed about their own options. A quick online search for gambling assistance or gambling help locates several organizations with phone numbers and other methods of contact that are available around the clock. Players can also contact their favorite online sites for information.
As far as legal awareness, players should stay informed, but it can be difficult when most sites abide by different rules in different locations. Players should know the laws applicable where they live and frequent, certainly. And with online play being even more complicated, they should find trustworthy sources for information and decide where to play with credible advice in mind.
