• Is Online Poker Illegal In Washington State Parks
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• Is Online Poker Legal In Washington State

The question of, is online gambling legal in the state of Washington, is one that does raise some big questions, more so perhaps than in other states. This goes beyond the simple questions over the required age at which you can gamble, because Washington state has one of the strictest and most active campaigns against online gambling. While enforcement methods may be lagging behind the law, the state of Washington has strayed from its pro-poker background as it enters the online arena and has officially banned online poker for its residents. The state of Washington has a large gambling industry led by over 100 Native American casinos. Washington state has a horse racing industry and a state lottery, so you'll find many gambling laws and three distinct arms of the Washington government which regulate gaming activities or administer gambling sales themselves.

The legality of online poker in the United States varies according to your jurisdiction. Contrary to what some sources might have you believe, no federal law specifically forbids online poker. State laws, on the other hand, might or might not, depending on the state. Only one state (Washington) has a specific law explicitly forbidding online poker, while only Delaware, Nevada and New Jersey have legalized and regulated it.

Our goal is to provide the facts about where you can play poker online legally in the United States. You should know up front that our site isn't run by lawyers or anyone with any kind of governmental authority. If you need actual legal advice, you should contact an attorney. The information provided here is for educational and entertainment purposes only. We're not responsible for anything that happens based on your use of the information here.

That being said, the information here is accurate and reliable to the best of our knowledge.

Washington State

We thought it would be a good idea to get this out of the way right away. It is illegal to play poker online for money in the state of Washington.

The state of Washington passed a law in 2006 making online poker a felony. Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars responded by no longer offering services to residents of that state, but they continued to operate in the rest of the country. If you live in the state of Washington, it's a crime to play poker online for money. In fact, it's a serious crime. Our advice to poker players in Washington state is to not play poker on the Internet.

We don't know why the state of Washington has taken such a draconian stance against Internet poker, but if you live there, it's probably best not to play, even if you can find a site which would accept you as a player.

Games of Skill vs. Games of Chance

The amount of controversy surrounding whether or not it's legal to play poker on the Internet in the United States is strange, especially in light of the similarities between the game and the free market system, which is one of the cornerstones of the American way of life. Poker is even commonly called 'America's card game.' Expert players consider it a mind sport. Even the general public considers poker a sport; that's why it's the subject of televised events on ESPN, a TV channel that specializes in sports programming and reporting.

In August, 2012, Judge Jack B. Weinstein, a federal judge in Brooklyn, ruled that poker is predominantly a game of skill rather than chance. The reasoning is that the money doesn't flow to the luckiest players at the table, at least not in the long run. In the end, the most skilled players win the most money. The skills used in poker include reading other players, concealing your own intentions, and evaluating the odds that your hand is the best.

According to Judge Weinstein, 'The most skillful professionals earn the same celestial salaries as professional ballplayers.'

Of course, this doesn't mean that playing poker doesn't constitute gambling, at least not colloquially. What makes a game 'gambling' is the activity of betting money. Skill becomes a consideration from a legal standpoint, though. In many jurisdictions, contests of skill are treated dramatically different from games of pure chance.

You might be the best poker player in the world, but on any given hand, you face an element of risk. The same holds true for other bettors who use skill to get an edge. Blackjack card counters, expert video poker players, and skilled sports handicappers all sometimes lose.

The Interstate Wire Act of 1961

Does the Wire Act make online poker illegal?
The Interstate Wire Act of 1961, sometimes called 'the Federal Wire Act', was passed in September, 1961 in an attempt to thwart organized crime.

In 2005, the Justice Department sent threatening letters to Internet publishers and broadcasting companies, including Google, Yahoo, and Infinity Broadcasting. Their contention was that accepting advertising from companies involved in online gambling was 'aiding and abetting' illegal activities. They used the Interstate Wire Act as justification for this.

In December, 2011, The Justice Department reversed their position, stating that the Interstate Wire Act of 1961 only applies to sports betting, not to poker.

So the short answer, until the Supreme Court rules otherwise, is no, the Wire Act does not make online poker illegal.

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006

Does UIGEA make online poker illegal?
The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA) was passed as part of the Safe Ports act. The law made it a federal crime to accept payments connected with illegal Internet gambling. It did not define 'illegal Internet gambling', and since the Wire Act only applied to sports betting, no federal law makes it illegal to play poker on the Internet for money.

So the short answer again is no, UIGEA does not make online poker illegal unless state laws make it illegal (which they seem to do in the vast majority of the states).

As a practical matter, though, UIGEA has made life harder for online rounders. Some companies, including Pacific Poker, Paradise Poker, and Party Poker, stopped accepting real money players from the United States. Other companies, including Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars, and the Cereus Poker network, continued to accept players from the United States. Eventually, even those companies had to capitulate to the prevailing anti-gambling sentiment from the current U.S. governmental regime.

Black Friday

Did the events of Black Friday make online poker illegal?
In 2011, an estimated 2 million Americans played online poker for money on a regular basis. On Friday, April 15, 2011, The Justice Department eliminated most of this play when it shut down the three most trafficked poker sites (Pokerstars, Full Tilt Poker, and the Cereus Network) with charges of money laundering and fraud. The US government contended that the companies had violated UIGEA, but the poker companies operated under the understanding that online poker wasn't illegal and therefore didn't constitute a violation of the act.

The Department of Justice not only seized control of the websites for the three companies, they also froze the assets in 76 bank accounts in 14 countries. Both civil and criminal charges were filed. In July, 2012, the U.S. government dismissed 'with prejudice' the civil complaints, but not the criminal indictments. PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker settled without admitting wrongdoing. As part of the settlement, PokerStars bought Full Tilt Poker.

No, the events of Black Friday didn't make online poker illegal, but they had a chilling effect on the actual play. The industry still hasn't recovered, but there are reasons to be optimistic.

The Poker Player's Alliance

The Poker Player's Alliance (PPA) was founded in Washington D.C. in 2005 as a non-profit political advocacy group to protect the rights of poker players in the US. Their goals include overturning UIGEA and passing legislation legalizing and regulating poker on the Internet. From their about us page, their mission is as follows: 'The PPA's mission is to establish favorable laws that provide poker players with a secure, safe and regulated place to play.'

Multiple bills have been proposed in Congress to amend UIGEA with an exception for online poker and other skill games but none have passed. We encourage the civic-minded members of our readership to visit their site, consider donating, or use their other resources to write to the lawmakers who represent them in the government. If it is the will of the people, safe and regulated online poker can become a reality sooner rather than later.

Delaware, Nevada, and New Jersey

Three states, Delaware, Nevada, and New Jersey, have passed laws explicitly legalizing and regulating online gambling.

Delaware taxes the first $3.75 million of online gambling revenue in a year at 100%, which means that casinos need to generate a tremendous amount of activity to earn any money from online gambling activities. To legally gamble online in Delaware, a player must be of gambling age and operate their computer (or smartphone/table) within the state. The online poker market there is correspondingly small as a result, but state officials are confident that revenues from online gambling will grow as it catches on there.

Nevada has legalized online poker for two sites: UltimatePoker.com and WSOP.com. These two sites have exclusive rights to run online gambling in the state. As in Delaware, players must be of legal gambling age and operate their computer within the state. Nevada taxes online gambling revenues at the same rate (6.75%) as all other gaming revenue.

Websites offering online gambling in New Jersey are required to have a relationship with a physical casino within the state. They tax this revenue at 15% (compared to the 8% they tax their physical casinos). All gambling activities, including poker, are legal within this context, but revenues have been lower than expected. This disappointment is, at least in part, a result of credit card companies' lack of cooperation in processing these transactions.

These are not the only states where it's legal to play poker. They're just the only states to have laws on the books specifically legalizing the activity and regulating it. In the United States, an activity is legal unless a law prohibits it, so the lack of laws on the books in some states does not equate to the committing of a crime. At least nine other states have proposals to legalize and regulate poker on the Internet.

Can You Legally Play Poker for Money on the Internet in the US?

State laws vary. If you live in the state of Washington, playing poker online for money is a felony. In most cases, general state gambling laws make online poker illegal as well. To our knowledge, no one in the United States has been indicted or convicted of a crime related to playing online poker for money so far. This, of course, might change in the blink of an eye. We recommend that you only participate in online poker if it's legal where you live.

Is Online Poker / Gambling Legal in Washington State?

The state of Washington has a large gambling industry led by over 100 Native American casinos. Washington state has a horse racing industry and a state lottery, so you'll find many gambling laws and three distinct arms of the Washington government which regulate gaming activities or administer gambling sales themselves. The governmental agencies involved in the Washington gambling industry are the Washington Horse Racing Commission, the Washington State Lottery Board, and the Washington State Gambling Commission.

Washington has altogether some 134 gambling venues in the state. In the entire United States, only Nevada (381), California (182), Florida (146), and Montana (145) have more locations a person can legally gamble--and Washington is awfully close to Florida and Montana in that competition. Washington is therefore one of the most pro-gambling states in the USA. Washingtonians have a wide range of gaming options, so let's cover every way a gambler can make wagers in the state of Washington.

Washington State Poker Laws

Of all American states, Washington State offers one of the broadest arrays of ways to play legal poker for real money. State law in Washington does strongly suggest that poker is considered a form of gambling (refer to Section 9.46); gambling involves 'contests of chance,' and contests of chance occur when an outcome is predicated to 'a material degree' on luck, fortune, chance - whatever you want to call it.

There's a strong argument that poker doesn't rely that heavily on chance, but the question is still being fought over in various courts. For now, the working law of the land is that poker does involve such a degree of chance, and is therefore considered gambling for the purposes of the law in Washington State.
The bright side of all of this for Washington poker players is that a numerous amount of ways to legally gamble - and to legally play poker - are provided by the law in Washington. So even though poker is technically gambling, and gambling is largely prohibited by Washington State law, poker players will still have no shortage of legal ways to play thanks to these numerous exceptions.

One such exception: Tribal and commercial casinos and card rooms. There are literally dozens of live poker rooms spread across Washington, ranging from the Lucky Bridge Casino in Eastern Washington to the Muckleshoot Casino in Seattle.

Another: Charitable gambling. As laid out in Section 9.46.0209, a variety of gambling activity - including poker tournaments - are legal in Washington State. Such activity is overseen by the Washington State Gambling Commission.

The last exception relevant to poker players: social gambling. Washington uses the standard definition of social gambling also employed by states like New Jersey and New York. Basically: If there's 1) no 'house' or anyone acting as a 'bank' with an advantage over other players and 2) no charge for taking part in the game, it appears (per Section 9.46.0265) to render an activity exempt from the general anti-gambling laws of Washington State.

Are Horse Tracks Legal in Washington?

Washington has four horse tracks where parimutuel wagering takes place. Given the large number of brick-and-mortar casinos in the state of Washington, it should be no surprise that these race tracks are not racinos (which might take customers away from the casinos). No gaming machines are found at these various race tracks, though off-track betting and simulcasting do take place at these racing venues. Even on days when live horse races don't take place, gamblers can go to these tracks and enjoy horse betting on races around the country and around the globe.

The Washington Horse Racing Commission oversees horse racing, pari-mutuel betting, and simulcasts. The commission not only sees to the betting regulations, but also to licensing of horses, trainers, and jockeys.

Washington State Lottery

The Washington State Lottery offers games like Hit 5 and Lotto, which has $1,000,000 payouts. Washington also has contracts with the Powerball Multistate Lottery and the Mega Millions Multi State Lottery, so Washington citizens can enjoy playing the lotto for tens of millions, perhaps even hundreds of millions, of dollars.

Gambling Laws in Washington

Few states have gambling laws as favorable for gamblers and gaming interests as Washington. In Washington state, several factors come into play. The western states in the USA tend to be more libertarian in their social attitudes, believing the government should be less active in the moral decisions its citizens make. At the same time, Washington tends to have a more liberal outlook on moral issues, so concerns about gambling corrupting the citizenry are less tangible. Finally, Washington is home to many traditional Native American tribes. Because Washington state was about as far away from the federal government centers of power in Washington DC in the latter stages of American expansion all the way to the Pacific Ocean, the local Indian tribes faced fewer attempts by the US federal government and its Army to harm the Native population or move them out to somewhere else.

All these factors come together to make Washington a haven for gambling interests. I suppose if Washington state lawmakers tried to put a stop to legal gambling in the state, the US Supreme Court's former ruling and the subsequent Gaming Compacts with the Native American tribes would limit the state government's ability to do so. Whatever the case, people in Washington should find plenty of gambling action.

Washington Gambling Cities

Seventy-five different Washington cities house casinos. Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, and Walla Walla all have their own Indian casinos. Cities with two or more Native American casinos include Spokane, East Wenatachee, Kennewick, Shoreline, Renton, Auburn, Tulalip, Tukwila, Aberdeen, La Center, Mountlake Terrace, Lakewood, and Yakima, Washington. Places like Coulee Dam, Pullman, and Suquamish all have their own casino operation.

Is Online Poker Illegal In Washington State Parks

Learn About Other State Laws

Is Online Poker Illegal In Washington State Income Tax

Washington Casino Cruise Ships

Is Online Poker Illegal In Washington State University

As if Washington didn't have enough gambling opportunities, 18 different cruise ships which are classified as 'casino cruises' depart from the port of Seattle. Three of these cruise ships are owned by Ambassadors International, while 15 of the ships are owned and operated by the Holland America Line. The Ambassadors International cruise ships are the Wind Spirit, the Wind Star, and the Wind Surf. The Holland American Line features ships christened Amsterdam, Eurodam, Maasdam, Nieuw Amsterdam, Noordam, Oosterdam, Prinsendam, Rotterdam VI, Ryndam, Statendam, Veendam, Volendam, Westerdam, Zaandam, and Zuiderdam.

Is Online Poker Legal In Washington State

Like the Native American casino in Washington, oversight is provided by the Washington State Gambling Commission. Of course, these ships are traveling through international waters, so no US or national laws are enforced on the gambling which takes place on the cruise ships, though the cruise lines want to please customers and officials in the state from which they depart.