Poker in the States – Who is Next?

Poker in the States – Who is Next?

Online poker in the U.S. has never been the same after the Black Friday. However, after the initial hit, things started to shape up slowly and there was a glimmer of hope that the lawmakers would come together and come up with a solution that would see Americans back at the virtual felt.

These hopes were soon diminished as it became clear that the issue will be dealt with at a state level, clearly indicating that the journey will be a long and a hard one. Thus far, only three states  have regulated online poker, New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware. The only real attempt at spreading the market outside of the state boundaries is the compact signed between Delaware and Nevada, but at this point this is only a drop in the sea.

It is clear that for anything important to happen, it is necessary for more states to adopt their own online poker regulations and then, perhaps, things can proceed to the next level. So, naturally, the question on everybody's mind is: who will be next?

Up until recently, it looked as if California would follow in the footsteps of the three previously mentioned states, but the recent reports indicate otherwise. It seems that interest for the legislation in Cali is not strong enough among politicians and whatever little interest there is, is far cry from enough to push the things forward.

As of right now, Pennsylvania is looking very interesting, as there's been some serious movement that could lead to a regulation. It seems that politicians and legislators in this U.S. state started to pick up on a positive impact that regulated online gambling had on the incomes of their neighboring states  and started to look for ways to follow the suit.

Two lawmakers in Pennsylvania, John Payne and Nick Kotik went as far as to publish an op-ed just recently in which they explained at length why it made absolutely zero sense for the state not to regulate online gambling. Payne and Kotik tried to underscore the message that online gambling is happening one way or the other, so the only difference is whether the state will profit from the taxes or not.

So while the hopes for California are on a rapid decline, things are starting to look up in Pennsylvania. Other than that, it is hard to guess. There's been some indicators that Washington could be doing something in the field of legislation, but this is probably not something to keep your breath for. Washington is one of the few states where a player could actually face criminal prosecution for playing online poker (although it's never happened), so this indicates that there might be a staunch opposition to the idea among legislators.

In the interim, for the most players in the States, offshore sites  accepting players from the U.S., like Carbon Poker, are the best bet for those looking to play poker for real money.  While it not be the absolutely perfect setup, there is still plenty of action around the clock and plenty of money to be won on the tables.