Amid all of these changes in regulation you have been hearing about, you must certainly be asking yourself: where can I play poker for a fact in the US online. It’s a good question and one that merits answering.
Well, Pennsylvania managed to pass its own act legalizing online poker in October 2017, joining other states where the game is legal, including Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware.
As you may have imagined, it hasn’t been a clear-cut victory for Pennsylvania either. The regulatory process is still afoot. All 13 of the state’s casinos are currently in the process of obtaining or applying for licenses. It just takes time to shake up past habits, and push on.
As such, we may expect to see Pennsylvania’s casinos open doors at the end of 2018, which will be a watershed victory for all after all. More importantly, Pennsylvania will also help other states make their case. Let’s look at some of the future plausible candidates for an online poker license.
Michigan
Michigan has succeeded in passing the Lawful Internet Gaming Act with a somewhat contested vote in the House finishing at 68-40. The proposal will now have to head to the Senate where it will be voted on during the Fall session.
If the bill manages to clear the Senate, Michigan may see its three casinos plunge right into the thick of online gambling, adding $800,000 in licensing fee to the state’s coffers in a five-year period.
New York
New York is a debated state. A most recent report surfaced, that popular UK gambling company, bet365, has hired a local lobby firm to advance the lot of gambling in the state.
However, the state clearly has its own victories. On June, the Senate Finance Committee passed a bill enabling it to pursue online gambling. The legislation will now be examined in the Rules Committee.
Illinois
Illinois has some good news to share, too. The state may be headed into all forms of gambling, after it has managed to pass a bill, enabling quite a few activities. We could see the addition of a casino in Chicago, and Illinois will formally legalize online casinos, online poker, daily fantasy sports, and sports betting.
However, debates to pass it into law will continue in November, after the bill failed to pass the Illinois House Executive Committee, falling short of the 6 required votes needed to send it to the Governor’s office for a final signature.
Connecticut
Connecticut has been pushing for legalized online gambling and sports betting bill as well, but they have been yet unable to pass it. The legal session came to an end on May 9 with no success.
If it had passed, we would have seen online casinos and online poker both. One of the main hindrances in the passing of the bill has been the fact that local tribes had argued they had exclusive rights to sports betting, courtesy of the gaming compacts signed with the state.
If another operator emerges, independent of the tribes’ facilities, they will effectively stop paying 25{c118e36310c7bc75bef8f724f80ee0a52cfaf44be22f7e80906142f4c81518da} of their slot proceedings, because the gaming pacts would be nullified. However, Gov. Dannel Malloy is currently on the job of pushing for a sports betting bill, which will be thrashed out in a special session during the summer or fall.
