Online Poker’s 2020 Industry Boom

Is it legal to play online poker in the U.S.?

Legal and regulated online poker is only permitted in several states across the country. As it stands, the only states where it is legal to take part in online poker are Delaware, Pennsylvania, Nevada, New Jersey, and Michigan. Some sources report that West Virginia is currently making plans to introduce legal online poker in the near future.

Record Holders

Yes 888 holds the record for largest fines dished out by the UKGC, they first beat the all time record in 2017 with a fantastic 7.8 millions of British Pound Sterling. But real champions do not stop chasing better results, and great achievements to be permanently inscribed in the history book.The ambition was matched with a gruelling training regime, while developing the sturdier brass neck ever, everyone at 888, engaged in group sessions and at their desks delivered the finest level of criminal compliance required for the greatest of all records....Trepidation and anticipation were followed by wild celebrations when on March First 2022 the Gambling Commission after completing all the checks declared a new Record 9.4 Millions fine, ongoing Indipendent Audit and consideration for the Suitability of 888 Holdings to maintain the current licence. Critically failing in anti money laundering. Wild parties were reported to last for over a week from CEO quarters drinking straight from the bottle the finest Louis Roederer while sitting in real human leather chairs, all the way to customer support agents who were gifted Chat Bots, Random Number Generators, and the pledge on contract to secure a job for the Agent's children as long as they withdrew them from school with immediate effect or for those who had to start to remain 100% non-educated, as these measures would assure that 888 long held tradition of employing illiterate muppets and compliant sycophants, could continue to be passed through generations.Lastly, when your licence will be withdrawn, because it's a matter of when not if, despite your critical lack of working memory you should have been able to work out that when 888 is withdrawn from the UK your Holy Chairman will disappear like dust in the wind. What that means?It means that since you are front line delivering in the criminal processes of money laundering, you are also responsible. 888 isn't going to cover your back, whereas I and others better than I, can freely enrol the 1000s dissatisfied punters, and chip in for the ultimate lawsuit because people can do great things when united. I am sure i will live to see some of your sorry excuse of beings being banged up. In jail for these crimes and for stealing other people’s homes too ;)Please start today and avoid proving your inadequacy to any job that requires thinking by not replying with your stupid hyperlink to ridiculous and frankly ignominiously written articles which are just the best example of brainless propaganda. Tic TocUpdate: I did ask you not to reply. The number of replies you made to negative reviews is too high, statistically would only have relevance in quality if the 99% was supported by a set of replies that ADDRESSED the feedback. But it isn't the case because the replies are all the same, or i should rather say there are 3 or 4 Bot Generated Replies. See you bunch of troglodytes, you think that we are all as primitive as you are. You think that people see that 99% stat and will immediately change their mind about the RUBBISH YOU COME UP WITH.Now one last time, I DO NOT TAKE ADVICE FROM SQUATTERS back off and do not reply.

Date of experience: 02 September 2022

Are all poker sites safe?

The short answer is no, not all poker sites are safe. Be sure to always check the site you might want to play at is fully licensed and regulated by an official body or authority.

Online Poker in the United States

As has already been mentioned, online poker in the U.S. is still developing and evolving. Online poker, just like with other types of gambling, is strictly monitored, and in extreme cases, illegal across some U.S. states. Some states have since legalised online poker, however, the majority of states have yet to follow suit. This makes online poker in the U.S. quite scarce and a fairly rare sight to see, with only Delaware, New Jersey, Michigan, Nevada, and Pennsylvania being the only states to provide legal and regulated access to online poker websites dealing with real money.

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act passed by Congress in 2006 essentially crippled the market for internet gambling. Many of the big operators in the U.S. were forced to close and completely cease their operations. Some sites chose not to follow these new regulations, and as such court cases ensued. Things have now started to open up again since 2013 as legal online poker returned to the internet, regulated and overseen by the individual States where they were in operation.

Some online sources discussing online poker in more detail have suggested that West Virginia is currently working out a way of legalising the online card game. Although the process is slow, the state may see online poker become legal in the near future. The minimum age required to access and start playing legal online poker in the United States is 21. Players must either be 21 or above to play legal online poker in selected states.

The 2020 mini-boom

The first online poker boom lasted from 2003 until around 2006, and during that time, online player pools at least doubled each year.

Soon after, poker experienced legislation issues in the USA, which was a sign of more trouble to come in 2011 with “Black Friday”, which effectively shut down online poker’s operations in the USA. Since then, the international market has never quite reached the same heights.

This year, however, online poker has seen a growth not unlike in those early days, albeit for unusual reasons. In March 2020, online poker traffic in Southern Europe doubled in a matter of weeks, and gains were also significant on the international online market.

Many of the players who increased the frequency of their play during this boom are reportedly recreational players, who recently learned how to play poker and then took their new skills to the online tables.

This inevitably attracted more action from the top pros, who sensed that the tables were busier, the tournaments fuller, and the prizes bigger.

Players also moved their home games online, and major live events throughout the year have been held online, often for the first time, on top of the usual calendar of online series. These “live events” also brought in more gamers who would usually frequent the floors of traditional casinos.

All of this combined led to what has now been dubbed as the 2020 mini poker boom. This has seen the overall online market grow in revenue by 30% this year, with many individual sites reporting significant growth figures.

Does Online Poker have a Future?

Overall, online poker does have a future in the United States. Due to the growing popularity and the general demand for the game, we may see more and more states introduce bills legalising the game. Of course, we do not have foresight and cannot necessarily predict where the industry is going. With that said, plenty of people is confident in the legalisation of online poker in more states coming in the near future.

There are already plenty of states across the country that are already actively looking at developing legislation that aims to introduce more access to online poker and online gambling in general. There is, of course, nothing stopping eager players travelling to the states where online poker is currently legal to play.

Entrepreneur Focus…

Check list: our top tips for a safe online poker experience

We often get asked how safe and secure the world of online poker is in 2022, and the answer is that it’s perfectly fine, as long as you take the necessary precautions before setting off on your journey. That’s why below we’ve provided you with our top tips for the areas you need to focus on to ensure your online poker travels are safe, no matter where you are in the gambling world.

Licensing

Before you set off on any journey, you want to make sure that your final destination is safe, and that’s no different when it comes to the best poker sites. For starters, you need to check if online gambling poker is legal where you are, or where you’re going to be. If so, you need to check if the poker site that you’re going to be using has the right license that’s legal for players where you are. All of the sites found in our poker online reviews have a legit license and are regulated by at least one regulatory body. In the United Kingdom, for example, sites must be regulated by the UKGC, some other licenses, such as the MGA license from Malta, travel further and have a wider reach to serve players the world over.

Security

Even if you’re a frequent online gambler, we ask that you give your full attention to our online poker safety demonstration before we take flight today…

When we refer to security in the world of online gambling, we’re referring to the protection of two things – your personal data and your funds. These days, we expect nothing less than HTTPS and/or SSL encryption technology. This should help ensure that your transactions are processed safely, and that ultimate, your funds and information is kept safe from hackers. Extra brownie points go to sites that keep all or part of your funds in offline storage, as these are impossible for hackers to get their hands on.

Terms and Conditions

When travelling on a plane you’re going to get away without watching the pre-flight safety demonstration in almost all cases – but not in the online poker world. Even the best poker site online is going to have some terms and conditions that it’s better to know before you start your journey than to learn it along the way.

You’re going to want to know things like bonus conditions, withdrawal limits, and player rules before you embark on your journey. Trust us, you don’t want to wind up finding some nasty surprises along the way! No one likes reading the small print – but it’s worth doing so before you click that check box! This is true everywhere in the gambling world, from the online poker rooms to the best bingo sites and beyond.

Reviews

You’ve already made a good start here by choosing to travel with Betting.net for our online poker journey. Our poker online reviews are some of the best and fairest in the gambling world, but we don’t only recommend consulting the experts. Once you’ve checked out our reviews, take a look at some reviews from fellow travelers who have already experienced your desired destination and experienced everything that it has to offer. No experiences are going to reflect your own more than your fellow explorers of the online poker world, so we’d always recommend consulting them before you take off.

Research

Have you ever booked a trip without researching potential destinations in advance? Probably not, right? So don’t do the same with potential destinations in the online gambling world! Look for the sites listed address and give it a quick Google search to make sure it checks out. Once you’re happy with that, dig a little deeper – call up the customer service helpline, test out the live chat and send ‘em an email. You can do all of this before arriving at your destination and signing up to the site – make sure you feel like you can trust them before you take off!