How Legal Real Money Poker Has Developed in the Past Decade

There has been a near-monumental shift in the way real money poker is perceived today. From the level of accessibility to the prize pools, to its treatment of regulators, the game has grown in more ways than anyone could have expected. Although regulatory efforts have been going on since the 2000s to introduce not just legal real money poker, but make sure it’s available online, the past few years have proven a turning point for the activity.

Legal Real Money Poker in the United States

Perhaps the biggest and most noteworthy change comes from the United States. The market has always been one where poker has thrived and prospered. The activity has been available since the 60s and although it was never taken too seriously until later on in the 90s and 20s, poker lived on.

The game was often the subject of tough regulation. In places like Texas, you cannot find legal poker options, and what do exist are based on thinly-worded loopholes. Player-banked and player-hosted games may work for some places, but this is not always the norm.

Such legislative holdouts remain to this very date, but they have not taken out from the momentum of legal real money poker in the USA. If anything, the activity is picking up steam and it is likely to continue doing so for many years to follow.

The regulatory renaissance of poker in the United States does not solely have to do with land-based poker. Land-based poker has been in fact well represented from New Jersey to Nevada, with some exceptions as mentioned.

But there is a bigger change afoot, and that is the adoption of online poker, which has been picking up across numerous states in the USA. The adoption has been somewhat small, but the fact that there is such a trend sends a clear message that demand for accessible and approachable online poker – and poker in general – has been increasing over the years.

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Of course, it’s not all without its challenges, as this activity, exciting as it is, has a daunting entry level.

Growing Pains and How Regulators Can Make It Easier

In places like the United States, online poker is experiencing its first growing pains. The idea of scaling up the activity is actually a good one, but there are challenges. Player uptake has been somewhat languishing because many players do fear the institution of poker.

In places like New Jersey and Pennsylvania, online poker has been popular enough to sustain its own ecosystem – but actual annual gain in player bases has been slow.

Of course, there are good reasons for that - unlike slots or sports betting, poker is a game of skill that can be seen as a little more demanding than placing a wager on your favorite team or spinning the jackpot reels for a chance – however far-fetched – at winning seven figures.

Regardless, legal changes have made it possible for online poker to adapt and give players a new incentive to love and seek out poker even more frequently. One way to do that is through the introduction of shared liquidity, which has been achieved through another piece of legislation, the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement or MSIGA. MSIGA is a big break for the online poker community (and the poker community in general) in the United States as it effectively allows the regulated brands in the country to pool their player bases, leading to better prize pools.

One common criticism against the existing Internet poker infrastructure in the United States has been not so much the lack of players and enough cash games (this has been mostly fixed although more work needs to be done). It has more to do with the fact that players are often limited when it comes to available places where they can access online poker.

This brings us to the next chapter of legal real money poker and not so much its past, but rather – the future that awaits the game.

What’s Next for Regulated Online Poker?

Regulated online poker is clearly far from having reached its full potential. The past decade though has been monumental. The striking down of PASPA in 2018 by the US Supreme Court has made sure that states would pursue more open-minded strategies when dealing with regulated gambling online.

Although the bulk of regulatory efforts was originally focused on regulated online sports betting – and sports betting in particular – there has been a lot of momentum gained around iGaming and by extension, online poker.

If one should be legal, why shouldn’t the rest. The game of poker in places like the United States has been clearly defined as a “game of skill,” contrasting it with the concept of a “game of chance.” In other words, poker is less and less understood as a “gamble” and more and more understood as a skill-based activity that can make you a success if you know what you are doing.

There is certainly no shortage of great role models who have been recently introduced to the game to only conquer its highest summits and prove that you can go from zero to consistently winning at the green felt. The impactful regulatory changes that have happened though have been a huge help.

Now, for online poker and poker to truly grow – not just in the United States, but everywhere else – lawmakers need to shake off any prejudice that still lingers against poker and embrace the activity as not just fun – but the economically sensible thing to do.