A U.S. online poker player has never been prosecuted for playing online poker. There are several online poker room empires that still take wagers from US bettors. Those rooms are Full tilt Poker, Poker Stars, Ultimate bet, and Bodog. The funny thing is that these poker rooms have endorsed players that you still see all over the television. Like, Jamie Gold, Joe Hachem, Chris Moneymaker, Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer, and many more. These online poker companies are private which allows them to avoid much scrutiny in the public eye.
It's amazing. I am playing poker on Bodog right now as I am writing this article. I had no problem using my credit card to make a deposit at Bodog. The transaction was instantly approved by my US Bank. The bank I use is called U.S. Bank.
The UIGEA was passed last october and has many people wondering if it can be enforced. Ironically, the US online poker market has been consolidated into the hands of a few wealthy people and companies. The online poker rooms still exist and the ones like Poker stars that still take US players have grown by several hundred percent or more overnight.
There appears to be no end in sight to US poker. Online poker is a $6 billion dollar a year industry, and over 50% is from outside the US. There is no Federal law in place in regards to a US citizen playing poker online for real money. There are 11 states whom have laws against it, so you should check the laws in your jurisdiction before ever making a wager of any kind online.
Ironically, it is also possible for a US citizen to own part or all of a online poker room providing the company isn't based in the US and that the company does not take wagers from US players. There are countless opportunities to get a piece of this market from any citizenship legally.
The much anticipated UIGEA court hearing to repeal the US law has been pushed up to September 26th 2007. iMEGA is filing suit against the US government. The defendants are the U.S. FTC, Federal Reserve Board (who knew they were privatley owned) and Department of Justice have agrred to the date change. The defendants asked for more time to get prepared.
Time will only tell as it appears the courts' decision and ruling could go either way.
