Online Poker Illegal in the USA?

I feel i've out grown play money poker sites, now i'm looking into online poker. I'm from the us, texas to be exact. From my understanding Online Poker isn't illegal and the reason the main sites were cracked down on was because of a money laundering scam, correct me if im wrong at any point.

I'm just wondering if any US players can chime in on the issue, do I have to report my winnings to the IRS, and does it matter im under age to play online, 19 years old.

SwoleRake said:

I feel i've out grown play money poker sites, now i'm looking into Online Poker. I'm from the us, texas to be exact. From my understanding Online Poker isn't illegal and the reason the main sites were cracked down on was because of a money laundering scam, correct me if im wrong at any point.

I'm just wondering if any US players can chime in on the issue, do I have to report my winnings to the IRS, and does it matter im under age to play online, 19 years old.

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there's a big grey area for online poker in the US right now. i wouldn't recommend having much money on a site...it also takes a long time to get a withdrawal off a site that accepts US players. i'm 24 years old and have played for money online on pokerstars and full tilt since i was 18, and i recommend just playing for fun until poker gets regulated. the days were good when we were able to play on ps and ftp, but once black friday hit us in april 2011, online poker has completely changed for the worse in the us.

Online poker is not illegal in the US. To play online you only have to be 18 so you should be fine to play poker. If you want a site with quick cashouts try out Americas Cardroom.

Not illegal but wouldn't deposit much anywhere. We never know what's going to happen here in the USA,,, I just got a check from Carbon,, took three and a half to get it,,, and that's fast for them. I wouldn't worry about the IRS unless we are talking thousands of dollars Take care.

Wagon 3/half weeks?

Yea 3.5 weeks is fast now days. Also some lofty fees. Ton of sites have been seized by the feds, a lot of others have gone under (like FTP).

Pretty much my understanding of things as of this moment: :
* Not illegal to play, just illegal to deposit through any U.S. financial Institution, but there are a few ways around that (gift visa's,wire transfer,money orders etc,,,)
* Deposit very little at first, due to the fact that the online poker "legality saga" changes day by day
* For now, U.S. players are kinda squeezed into playing at the Merge network of cardrooms (Carbon, PDC,Blackchip,Aced,Ironduke,PokerHost to name a few) You could try Americas Cardroom or Juicey Stakes, I don't like either, I prefer to play at Merge rooms.

Gl whatever you do!

No its not illegal, but like the other posters said its hard as hell to get your money, I think full tilt poker put a bad taste in many players mouth, I would not deposit, I would go for free rolls and build a stack that way.

USA poker schmoker

SwoleRake said:

I feel i've out grown play money poker sites, now i'm looking into Online Poker. I'm from the us, texas to be exact. From my understanding Online Poker isn't illegal and the reason the main sites were cracked down on was because of a money laundering scam, correct me if im wrong at any point.

I'm just wondering if any US players can chime in on the issue, do I have to report my winnings to the IRS, and does it matter im under age to play online, 19 years old.

Click to expand...

Online poker is not illegal, but U.S. has changed how easy these sites can get our $$. Online poker tho is not illegal as Nevada will have a poker site up and running here within a few months. ( for residents only ) so if you dont live there you cant play on it. Other sites are just limited on how they can get $ as far as reporting to the IRS.. depends on what u win personally i dont report crap to them but if you win a ton and they want to know where you got the $ and you dont report it..well now you can be on their bad side and be convicted in a court for tax evasion. Although chances of this are slim, you never know what will happen in future. Maybe a site makes a deal to release all info on payouts to DOJ in exchange for them to get a licence to operate here then you have issues, ( if it is worth their time ) BUT with any gambling win you can claim 10k loss for that year. So you have at least one way to go... if you win 10k or less can always say you lost it. Win 10k or more.. depends on how big of a chunk you get paid out. Banks report any deposit of 10k or more or breaking up your deposits. ( breaking up the 10k and depositing over 1-2 weeks ) . Just some info for you not suggesting anything

Which companies got the NV licenses? I heard somewhere the Ferttita brothers (the UFC guys) got one of them.

not illegal, but its illegal for banks to process anything from gambling sites.