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Poker and the Law |
 Playing online poker is a lot of fun, and for many of the players today, it is the only viable option for playing poker on a regular basis. Unlike a real game, however, you can’t look into the eyes of the person taking your money, or giving you their money depending on the situation. This makes a lot of people nervous. Just where is your money going? |
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Usually articles like this start off with some stale joke about death, taxes, and the inevitability of both. Taxes, though, are a reality in the world of gambling. If it isn’t reported correctly you can find yourself suffocated by red tape. I guess death and taxes to go together. |
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I just want to inform you – just in case you want to know if it’s legal to do what you do. |
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The recent explosion of casino gaming has left many to wonder whether the laws against wagering have been loosened. With tribal casinos, riverboat casinos, internet casinos, state lotteries and a myriad of other gambling operations in business today, it’s a dizzying thought. Are you breaking the law when you step into a casino and place a bet or slip some coins into the slots? |
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How far back does the connection between organized crime and gambling go? Well if you go back to the days when Vikings where taking out their aggressive feelings on English monks, French Kings, and basically anyone who didn’t share their view of how the world should run, you can find even in those days there was a connection between crime and gambling. |
 If you ever get into a debate about the legality of online gambling, the wire act is one of those facts that you are expected to know if you want to argue either side with any amount of credibility. The wire act is the little statute that everyone points to when they want to claim that online poker is illegal, and all of the pro-gambling folks are putting their own spins and adaptations on it so that they can justify their recreational activities. |
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It’s a question that is on the minds of many people. While the business of online gambling continues to grow at an exponential rate, there are many people who believe they are participating under the radar, and would be arrested if anyone found out what they were doing. |
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Part of the attraction associated with the poker boom is the fact that it can easily be played in the home. While land-based poker playing requires a nominal fee at least, and usually additional fees for airfare and other travel-related expenses, online poker can be played from the comfort of a computer chair. |
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As poker continues to grow in popularity, it seems that the fans are becoming younger and younger. No longer is poker reserved for middle-aged men in smoky bars on the edges of towns. Children in junior high are beginning to bring cards into school, trying to start a pick-up game during study halls and recess periods. Some of the more fanatical students use their lunch money to bet, as well as allowance and the like. Such extreme behavior leads to the question as to the time it is legally acceptable for a person to begin gambling. |
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If you’re in Pennsylvania, you can be charged with a first-degree misdemeanor if you are caught hosting any kind of unlawful gambling. This means that if it’s your house, or if you’re renting it, you can be arrested for home poker. This even means if your roommate is hosting a game and you have no part in it, the cops could hypothetically arrest you as well, since you still technically "control" the premises. |
 The good news is that you can play poker in the Sunshine State, and that’s the important point. The bad news is that if you don’t adhere to a certain set of rules, playing poker in the state of Florida can land you in jail. |
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