Players in those states will have no issues playing on regulated sites in these states, but more on this later. Please see the referenced article for a complete article on safety and more here about getting scammed in poker.Ĭurrently, online poker is legal and regulated in New Jersey, Delaware, Nevada, and Pennsylvania. So yes, it is safe to play poker from the US. Even though these laws are on the books, no one is being arrested or prosecuted. Even in Washington state, there have been zero online poker arrests. With that said, no one has ever been prosecuted on the national or state level for playing online poker. States that have laws against individual gamblers, like Utah and Louisiana, also criminalize online poker by default. Citizens can even be prosecuted for simply having online poker software on their computers. Most states don’t have laws against online gambling, but in some states, such as Washington state, online gambling is a felony offense. It can get a little tricky on the state level.

It’s certainly not illegal federally, despite many misleading statements over the years from government officials and those in favor of online gambling prohibition. The short answer is yes, online poker is legal in the United States on the individual level. This is probably the question most commonly asked by new players.

Is playing online poker legal in the United States?

States online poker is legal