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Legal Poker Sites Texas
Jul 29, 2017 tocOnline poker in New York sits in the same legal limbo it does in most states. There are those that will tell you the act of playing poker online isn’t against the law. However, these same people will have to admit operating an online poker site inside the state’s borders is a crime. Texas Online Poker Law. Although there are no Texas laws that allow online poker, it looks like Texans will be able to play online poker sooner rather than later.Texas appears to be facing poker sensibly, and with online poker bill among two other poker-related bills submitted in 2013, Texas is on the verge of a poker boom.
Last updated: Dec. 1, 2019 – Regulated online poker is officially open for business in Pennsylvania and it’s already the biggest online poker market in America. It took longer than expected (the original pro-online gambling law passed in 2018) but after numerous delays the first online poker site launched in late 2019. The market is changing rapidly as more and more sites come on board. The big question on everyone’s mind is whether Pennsylvania will enter into a liquidity sharing deal with NJ, which would be a huge step forward for online poker in the USA.
Online Poker in Pennsylvania – Date of Legalization: October 30, 2018
Pennsylvania is one of the more lenient states when it comes to gambling and their laws. They allow charitable gaming, commercial casinos, pari-mutuel betting, and state lottery games; no Indian casinos are allowed.
Poker can be played under a few of those categories, but when it comes to playing over the internet it is now legal since a bill was signed into law on October 30, 2017. What’s interesting about Pennsylvania is almost all states have a definition of “gambling” in their statutes to help people understand their laws better, but they don’t even really provide a definition at all.
Instead, their statute talks more about “gambling devices” which states:
Gambling Devices
- Offense defined. A person is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree if he/she:
- intentionally or knowingly makes, assembles, setups, maintains, sells, lends, leases, gives away, or offers for sale, loan, lease or gift, any punch board, drawing card, slot machine or any device to be used for gambling purposes, except playing cards.
- allows persons to collect and assemble for the purpose of unlawful gambling at any place under his control.
- solicits or invites any person to visit any unlawful gambling place for the purpose of gambling.
- being the owner, tenant, lessee or occupant of any premises, knowingly permits or suffers the same, or any part thereof, to be used for the purpose of unlawful gambling.
The above definitions and statutes may be changing now that online poker, casino games, daily fantasy sports, and lottery sales is now legal as of October 30, 2017.
Regulating Gambling – Important to the State
Pennsylvania has allowed betting at their racetracks for quite some time, and the state lottery was established on August 26, 1971. With that being said, they still put a priority on making sure all legal forms of gambling within the state are closely regulated.
In 2004, they passed the Race Horse Development and Gaming Act, which legalized electronic slot machines and allowed commercial casinos. In 2010, Governor Ed Rendell signed a law permitting non-electronic table games at casinos, blackjack being the most popular form. In 2015, Pennsylvania’s casinos broke a record generating $3.17 billion in gross revenue.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is the regulating gaming entity in the state. Their Mission Statement says the following:
To protect the interest of the public by ensuring the integrity of legalized gaming through the strict enforcement of the law and regulations, the licensing of qualified individuals and entities, and fulfilling the objectives of limited gaming in the Commonwealth to deliver a significant source of revenue, assist the horse racing industry, provide broad economic opportunities and enhance tourism.
The PGCB is widely respected as one of the premier gaming regulators in the United States.
Pennsylvania Texas Hold’em Poker Guide
Texas Hold’em is popular in Pennsylvania and it’s important to know what is legal and what isn’t legal, including all the specific laws, codes, etc., associated which each section.
Below are two examples:
Question – What prizes may be offered in regard to lawful Texas Hold’em events? Do there exist limitations for the prizes that may be awarded?
Answer – The total value of prizes for any given event, tournament or contest on retail licensed premises may not exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00). The total value of all prizes awarded in any seven (7)-day period may not exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000.00). [40 Pa. Code § 5.32(f)(7)]. Should any subsequent event grow out of a Texas Hold‘em event or tournament (i.e., second tournament on/off-premises) the subsequent event will have its prize values attributed to the first tournament for purposes of section 5.32. Additionally, licensees must maintain records of the prizes and winners on the licensed premises for two (2) years following the event, tournament or contest.
Question – May I hold a “ladies’ night” for an event related to a Texas Hold’em event?
Answer – The Pennsylvania Human Relations Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender and/or sex. [43 P.S. § 951 et seq.]. It would be unlawful to offer only one (1) sex a benefit, such as charging a cover only to male patrons. Therefore, a ladies’ night promotion in which females received a benefit that is not also offered to men is not permissible unless both men and women receive the same benefit.
Specific State-by-State Laws
Alabama – Arizona – Arkansas – California – Colorado – Connecticut – Georgia – Idaho – Iowa – Kansas – Maine – Maryland – Massachusetts – Michigan – Minnesota – Mississippi – Montana – Nebraska – New Hampshire – New Mexico – North Carolina – North Dakota – Ohio – Oklahoma – Rhode Island – South Carolina – Tennessee – Vermont – West Virginia – Wyoming
Texas Online Poker Law
Although there are no Texas laws that allow online poker, it looks like Texans will be able to play online poker sooner rather than later. Texas appears to be facing poker sensibly, and with online poker bill among two other poker-related bills submitted in 2013, Texas is on the verge of a poker boom.
Online-poker-playing Texans also have an supporter at a federal level in Rep. Joe Barton, who is pushing for national online poker legalization with his awesomely named Internet Poker Freedom Act of 2013.
This is the bill that all online-poker-playing Americans should hope makes it to the president’s desk, as it would make online poker legal in the United States. States would have to option to opt out and prevent its citizens from playing online poker. As of late 2013, the bill remains in committee.
The state-level online poker bill, House Bill 3529, sponsored by Republican State Rep. John Kuempel, makes sure Texas doesn’t opt out of the Internet Poker Freedom Act if it ever makes it through Congress. This could be seen as a bill of support for Barton’s efforts, and basically says Texans will be able to play online poker if the federal government says so.
Conservative Gov. Rick Perry, one of the main faces of Republican Party, may be an obstacle to the bill. In 2009, Perry put pressure on legislators and helped snuff out a bill that would have allowed the states seven horse tracks and dog tracks to spread poker.
The other bill that legislators will consider is the Poker Gaming Act of 2013, which again tries to legalize poker at the state’s tracks and one Indian casino. The Texas Lottery Commission would oversee the industry, if passed. It remains in committee.
The third poker bill introduced in 2013 would allow poker tournaments at charity events.
Poker Laws In Texas
Texas Senators only meet every two years — the odd-numbered years — so they cannot act only any of these bills until 2015, unless Gov. Perry opens a special session specifically to vote on any of these bills, which only he can do.
It’s hard to imagine Gov. Perry would not allow Texans to play online poker if his fellow Texan Republican’s Internet Poker Freedom Act manages to wiggle through the most dysfunctional Congress in recent history.
There are no bills currently in committee that make online poker legal for Texans, and won’t be until Senators get back together in 2015.
When Will Texans be Allowed to Play Online Poker?
If Barton’s Internet Poker Freedom Act of 2013 makes it through in 2014 — a highly optimistic thought — Texans may be able to play in that year or 2015. But without a federal law, online poker legalization must come within the state. The Texas legislature may be willing to act on an online poker bill in 2015 after watching other states get into the online poker game. If not in 2015, the lawmakers will surely try again in 2017. It’s seriously hard to imagine that online poker wouldn’t come to Texans by 2018.