Latest Poker News & Tournament Results
This construct has long powered the largest sweeps poker market in the country. The model grants free Sweeps Coins tied to purchases of a fun currency, which can be used for poker and redeemed for cash. Those moves foreshadow broader poker exits now that the signature is in place.
Although there is a growing list of states where online poker is legal, playing poker on the Internet remains unregulated or illegal in the majority of them, depending on state law. There are now seven players in the state-by-state online poker industry in the States of America. Efforts to legalize online gaming and poker have already been introduced in both the house and the senate and allow the state’s casinos to be licensees (listed as Category 1 license holders for two www.pokernewsdaily.com skins as well as separate branding for online poker).
Law is unclear both on the issue of internet gambling in general and internet poker precisely. No serious online gambling bills have been proposed in the last couple of years, but the state remains a strong possibility in the coming years. The Hoosier State has been a surprise contender for regulated igaming, having seriously examined several bills in the last few years.
Other states like Wisconsin, California, and Florida, just to name a few, are allowed to offer poker via compacts between state and tribal gaming interests. Online poker is also legal in Connecticut, Maine and Rhode Island, but as of 2026 no operator has decided to launch there. With a population of 19.8 million, New York could bring huge liquidity if it entered a multi-state gaming compact with states like New Jersey, Michigan and Nevada. “Regulatory oversight is intended to safeguard the integrity of the games and participants and to ensure accountability and the public trust.” Rush Street Interactive also launched a poker product in Pennsylvania in 2024 and plans to expand. Pennsylvania (13 million) is also expected to join the MSIGA soon and Connecticut (3.7 million) is considering legislation to join.
Connecticut lawmakers recently introduced a bill that would add the state to the shared liquidity compact. As stated in the bill, the state would issue 10-year licenses to operators for $2 million per license, up to three of which that would be awarded “by a competitive bidding process.” On Jan. 11, Democratic state senator Joseph Addabbo Jr. introduced S8185, a bill to “regulate interactive gaming in New York” and outlining licensing requirements for iGaming providers. An important contributor to the economy, Pennsylvania’s gaming market ranks first in the United states among commercial gaming states in producing tax revenue.
Some senators expressed an interest in regulating sweepstakes casinos rather than banning them, a move favored by the industry. HB 1052 would prohibit sweeps platforms from offering slots, video poker, table games, lottery, bingo, or sports wagering. Several states implemented new initiatives, including releasing regulations, launching sports betting operations, considering new legislation, and shifting regulatory authority. Regulated real-money california online poker remains a distant prospect. California’s legislature framed dual-currency sweepstakes as illegal gambling dressed as social play. When WPT’s sweeps room left two states this fall, it gave players between two weeks and one month to cash out.
If it wasn’t clear before, there are a lot of moving parts when it comes to US online poker at the moment. Both bills explicitly include online poker, making them some of the most straightforward proposals in recent years. Massachusetts is another state revisiting online poker in 2025, with two separate bills — HD 4084 in the House and SD 2240 in the Senate. If passed, Wyoming could become an interesting addition to the US online poker scene. Wyoming might not be the first place that comes to mind when you think of US online poker, but a new bill—House Bill 162—aims to change that.
Aggressive approach toward prosecuting illegal gambling is aimed primarily at the individuals or groups who are backing, running, or otherwise entangled in the business end of the activity. Devin O’Connor is a senior reporter for Casino.org, covering politics, casino business, and gaming news. “If we don’t fix this misguided provision, people would be discouraged from visiting casinos and Nevada’s tourism economy would take a hit.”
Financial institutions were then required to block such transactions pertaining to wagering on any “game subject to chance,” which was written to include online poker and casino games. Bally’s Corporation, which is based in Rhode Island, lobbied for a bill to legalize online gaming through its two land-based casinos – the only ones in the state. Connecticut’s legal framework grants the Mohegans and Mashantucket Pequots a monopoly over online casino games, including poker. Michigan lawmakers had worked to legalize online poker for several years. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board took much longer than expected to finalize its regulations and issue licenses for online casinos and poker sites. Its legislature passed a bill to legalize internet poker and casino games in January 2011, even before the DOJ’s Wire Act decision, but Governor Chris Christie vetoed it.
Alex Weldon is a gambling journalist from Nova Scotia, Canada, serving as Managing Editor for PokerScout. Shapiro even accepted an invitation to a poker game for government officials inside the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas. Shapiro, who made national headlines earlier this month after an arson attack at the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion that caused him and his family to evacuate, said he generally supported personal freedoms like gambling and added that he thought joining MSIGA could encourage other states to follow suit. Use our free fold equity calculator before you shove your next flush draw to make sure your play is +EV. Kentucky may get bumped up to the “possible” category given legislation has been drafted, but our guess is the powerful horse racing lobby will prevent its passage. Our pessimism stems from the fact that multiple attempts to pass legislation have been made, always running into seemingly insurmountable obstacles.
Physical and online sports betting have also been available in the state since 2019, with the first legal bet taken in 2020. Georgia’s constitution forbids most forms of gambling, including online poker. Delaware remains a model for early-state adoption of regulated internet poker. The Delaware Lottery oversees all iGaming operations, including poker, casino games, and slots. Rare discussions on gambling legislation in Arkansas focus on lotteries or casinos.
Companies or individuals violating the law could face fines of up to $100,000. Senate approval of the bill comes after legislators began considering banning sweepstakes operators in December. The lower chamber passed the legislation by an margin this month. The choice of a lawyer or other professional is an important decision and should not be based solely upon advertisements. Under certain state laws, the following statements may be required on this website and we have included them in order to be in full compliance with these rules. NLR does not answer legal questions nor will we refer you to an attorney or other professional if you request such information from us.
In Massachusetts, these poker rooms have remained in a state of limbo, but that could change… Read more » DeSantis and others felt, however, that gaming would be allowed to continue unabated. Peer into the future When we fantasize about having poker superpowers, one that is usually at the top of people’s lists is the ability to see what cards are coming next.
In April 2025, Pennsylvania joined the multi-state compact, allowing players from the state to play online poker with other players in Michigan and New Jersey. Online poker has been legal in Pennsylvania since 2017 when lawmakers passed HB 271, which also legalized other forms of online gambling. There is no online poker in Oregon and the state has explicit anti-iGaming and anti-poker betting laws that prohibit online poker operators from accepting payments via the internet. While live poker has been allowed at land-based tribal casinos like Choctaw Casino Resort and Winstar World Casino and Resort, there is no online poker in Oklahoma. Despite imposing many rules on online gaming, Ohio lawmakers have yet to legalize online poker or approve any online poker laws.
Jersey, Nevada, and Delaware were first, Michigan jumped in 2022, and Pennsylvania finally joined this April, creating the biggest regulated pool the U.S. has ever seen. \”We are working on legislation to authorize iGaming and iLottery in New York, and we are optimistic that this session, we can turn it into law,\” the legislators wrote. The three winning licensees would then be allowed to contract with online-gaming software partners, but each winning bidder would be limited to just a single online skin.
Providing everything you need to play poker online since 2006. Resorts World, meanwhile, has dabbled in online sports betting but has had less success. The question for iGaming and online poker proponents, then, is what has changed that would engender any optimism in 2026? “I think it’s terrible for the government to put people in a position to think about things like that. The players I know, the tournament players, pay their taxes. They pay quite a bit in taxes.” “It’s even worse for the younger players. These are people who put in an incredible amount of effort and hours learning, and now they’re going to be in a position where they can’t really play,” Seidel claims.
The online poker bill, which was introduced this week, mentions both Texas Hold’em and Omaha and cites case law that has determined poker to be a game of skill rather than a game of chance. Meanwhile, fellow Democrat David Weprin’s AB 1580 would allow “any person who holds a license to sell alcoholic beverages for consumption on premises to allow players to engage in certain recreational contests,” including contests involving poker. Assembly Bill 1380, sponsored by Democratic State Assemblyman J. Gary Pretlow, would allow “certain interactive poker games (to) be considered games of skill rather than games of luck,” a crucial distinction that would clear the way for New York entering the online poker market. Supporters of the bill noted that many in the state are already gambling using unregulated sites and giving them a legal option. Finding any real sustainable numbers for online poker would mean joining the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA), which includes Nevada, New Jersey, Michigan, West Virginia, and Delaware.
- Needs widespread support Lawmakers in Georgia are giving sports betting legalization yet another shot.
- The “no” answer is for online poker as no pro-poker bill has made its way through the House.
- The Massachusetts Gaming Commission seemed on board with creating an online gaming framework.
- But it has taken almost eight years for that number to double, with the state of Connecticut becoming the seventh state to pass legislation authorizing online… Read more »
- In an Air Force One interview on Tuesday, Trump floated the idea of eliminating federal taxes on gambling winnings entirely, though it remains to be seen if he’ll actually propose the idea to Congress.
The bill would bar any federally-recognized tribal nations in New York from offering competing online-gaming platforms without being licensed by the state, but they would be welcomed into the bidding process. S8185 calls for the state to issue three interactive gaming licenses, to be awarded through a competitive bidding process open to currently approved gambling licensees in the state. The bill declares a \”conservative estimate\” that approving online gaming would net New York a much needed billion dollars in tax revenue in it its first year. S8185 notes that neighboring states Pennsylvania and New Jersey generated roughly $3.5 billion in online-gaming in revenue, collecting about a billion dollars in combined revenue for the two states.
Can You Play Online Poker in New Mexico
The state takes a rigid approach to gambling that includes a law banning financial activity related to online gambling. Chances for regulated online poker in the near term are exceedingly slight. He has been working to legalize online poker since 2005 but fails to gain enough support. Year after year, lawmakers put online poker bills on the table only to fail to push them toward hearings and votes.
Pennsylvania was also recently asked to join the MSIGA, with some poker sites expected to share liquidity by the end of the first quarter. The bill makes two specific mentions of poker, including in the definition of “authorized interactive game,” which is “any internet-based version or substantial equivalent of a table game, slot machine constituting spinning reels, (or) poker tournament.” He’s a regular in live tournaments and cash games at buy-in levels around $400-$2,000. Along with the Seminole Tribe, Hard Rock already operates an online betting monopoly in Florida, which includes slot-like games. The wild card on the scale could be the new casinos themselves.
The senator who spearheaded sports betting sees online poker and casinos as the next logical gaming expansion step for New York. You can also find poker player profiles, casino game rules, tournament poker results, reviews of the best online casinos and sports betting platforms, strategy articles, poker magazines, poker tools, and poker training resources. Multi-state networks that can help expand the player base are viable solutions for running online poker sites or casinos in several potential states. Most sites, such as PokerStars on FanDuel, allow players to get the online poker experience for free by playing in play money ring games and tournaments. When it comes to online poker, a lot of legislative efforts have piggybacked off sports betting, meaning when a state is considering online sports betting gaming operators push to tack on other games, including poker.
Is Poker Legal in California?
However, poker operators haven’t launched a site in either Delaware or West Virginia. Under the current Connecticut landscape, the state’s two tribal nations were given exclusivity over online gambling. However, there isn’t an online poker room operating in the jurisdiction.
There is no state-regulated poker in Alabama, where state law forbids almost all forms of gambling. The question of whether online poker is legal in the USA very much depends on your location. Under federal law, no statute directly criminalizes individuals for playing poker through offshore sites.
While live poker is permitted in the state of Minnesota, there is no legislation that permits online poker. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed the internet gaming and sports betting bill into law in December 2019, thanks to bipartisan lawmakers who carefully walked it over the finish line. Maryland does not permit online poker, although live poker is legal. While live poker is legal, Maine does not permit online poker.
Today, CardPlayer.com is the best poker and gambling information portal for free poker and casino content, offering online poker site and casino reviews and exclusive online gambling bonus deals. New Jersey, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Delaware are currently offering legal online poker sites for money in the US. This should naturally boost player pools and tournament guarantees, further attracting more players to try their hand in online poker from the comfort of their home. Many US players are waiting for large-scale online poker to be accessible across the states. State-regulated online poker with real money poker games such as cash games and tournaments is legally available in just a few states.
