Poker Wars

July 20, 2008

It seems that while all of the focus has been on the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 – or UIGEA – there have been other smaller battles being fought in the war for and against poker. In fact, if you look all across the country – states are waging their own wars one way or the other for and against poker.

Many of these battles are taking place in bars – where they want to see poker legalized. As more establishments start offering Texas Hold’em tournaments across the nation, these places need to get their states to allow them to offer poker – as many legally cannot.

The issue is that poker really is a state law, not a country one. Some liken it to Prohibition, except that the ban on alcohol was a federal issue – which is not the case with poker. Gambling is a state issue – so it is up to the state governments and the people within those states to decide if poker, or any gambling, should be legal.

State run poker is actually one of the few areas where the government is happy to keep their mouths shut. They could not care less which states offer what – as long as they don’t have to get involved in the process. With more residents of these states not only interested in poker being legal, but with gambling as a whole being legal – it has made it a much more interesting battle.

For many states it is a matter of having a license to offer poker or gambling, and if you don’t have one you can’t offer it. However, poker games played for free become another issue as they are essentially legal.