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USA Poker - Gambling in the United States

Welcome to our guide to poker and gambling in the USA. We've included information in this section about casinos and cardrooms organized by state. When we could find details about gambling laws and gaming regulations for specific locales, we've included that here. The section of the site also includes games and limits available when possible. Please keep in mind that everything on this site is manually updated, and some of the information might be out of date since casino gambling situations of all kinds change rapidly.

Poker and gambling have been popular in the USA for a long time, and the phenomenal growth in wagering over the last decade should be no surprise to anyone. Poker celebrities like Chris Moneymaker and Greg Raymer are becoming increasingly popular because they make the average American feel like he too can compete.

Poker Card Rooms in the USA

States which have legal casino gambling often are the home to casinos with actual poker card rooms, but even states where casino gambling and poker are illegal often have underground card games available. One friend of ours who lives in Dallas, Texas told us that there were at least 35 underground cardrooms in the metro area. Not bad for a city where there are no casinos and playing cards for money is illegal.

Another trend is the rise of amateur poker leagues, who play in bars and clubs for leaderboard points. No money is actually wagered in these amateur poker tournaments, which makes them completely legal everywhere. But on the other hand, some people think that poker without real money wagering is unsatisfying at best, and just plain silly at worst. We'd rather play cards for play chips than not play cards at all, but your temperament might be different.

Gambling and Poker Legalities

Almost all states have some type of legal gambling, even if it's only charitable bingo or the lottery. States who offer legalized casino gambling are rarer though, and even some of those states don't have much to offer a poker player. Our opinion is that the current upward trend in the gambling business in the USA will continue, and we'll eventually see legal casino gambling and cardrooms in every state.

Where possible, we've included specific information about gambling statutes in different locations, but this site is not meant to offer legal advice. Please do your own homework regarding the law in your jurisdiction and make the appropriate judgment calls regarding your activities. We encourage everyone to play poker and gamble, but we also encourage everyone to use discretion, obey the law, and take care of your own gambling problem if you have one.

There are a number of federal gambling laws that are beyond the scope of our coverage here, but you can find out more about them at Chuck Humphrey's excellent gambling law website. Some of the topics covered there include the Wire Act, Anti-Lottery Laws, and the Illegal Gambling Business act of 1970.

Some of the regulatory bodies and trade organizations involved in gaming  at the federal level include:

• The National Indian Gaming Commission
• The North American Gaming Regulators Association
• The North American Pari-Mutuel Regulators Association

Individual states have regulatory bodies also, and in the specific sections for each state we include that info as well.

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