US Poker Rooms

US Poker Rooms

Since the UIGEA was passed in the US Congress back in 2006, the fate of online poker in the US has been uncertain. While online poker rooms like PartyPoker immediately withdrew from the online US poker market, many other sites continued to accept real-money bets from US players. Poker rooms such as FullTilt Poker, Carbon Poker, PokerStars, and all of the Cake Poker Network sites did not close their doors to their loyal American followings, nor did they discontinue new player sign-ups from the region.

Over the last few years, as the Poker Player’s Alliance (PPA), works steadily to stir up legislation that will amend the UIGEA, a handful of Congressman have worked to remove online poker play from the restrictions in the bill that prohibit banks from having their hands in the transfers of online betting funds. Furthermore, let’s not forget to mention the drama that Gov. Beshear from Kentucky has stirred up listing more than 140 poker-related websites that he is insisting prohibit Kentucky players from betting on their sites. The uproar in Kentucky is no doubt a result of the millions of dollars that the Kentucky horse racing industry has lost to online wagering. Gov. Beshear doesn’t want to prohibit gambling in his state; he just wants to eliminate online gambling, so Kentucky gets the profits from its citizens gambling habilts.

As these regulations work their way through the Kentucky court, some poker rooms have already shut their doors to Kentucky players, and some to US players in general. Specifically sites operating under the MicroGaming software have recently jumped on the anti-American band wagon. Despite statements from MicroGaming sites like Intertops claiming they would not ban US players, only a week later, MicroGaming has suggested they do so. Overnight, US poker players have lost their rights to play at Intertops and DoylesRoom, both of which, up until recently, have been big supporters of US online betting.

The UIGEA does not prohibit US players from participating in online wagering, nor does it prevent sites from accepting these bets. As stated earlier, the regulation lies within banking institutions and prevents these businesses from assisting in the transferring of funds by US citizens who have the intention of betting online. Certain online banking sites, like NETeller, have gone so far as to exclude US members. There are, however, plenty of financial options available to US players, who can transfer funds into their online poker accounts via credit card or instant bank transfer.

Right now, US wagering will continue as usual. The United States Congress is set to revisit the UIGEA, but with all of the financial issues that they will have to address once the session opens up under the new president elect, Barak Obama, online poker might not see its day in Congress for quite some time. The truth is there are a lot of factors playing into the pot, such as the $680,000 that MasterCard spent to lobby Congress on “Internet-related issues,” including Internet gambling. Whether or not MasterCard was for or against online poker in the US is unknown. The UIGEA laws regarding online poker have been finalized by the Bush administration and are set to go into effect the day before the new president takes office.

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