Online Poker and the COVID-19 Pandemic

Online Poker

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased interest in online poker and its regulation. States in the Midwest are now considering legislation. Several other states, including West Virginia, Michigan and Pennsylvania, are also mulling legislation to regulate online poker. This article will discuss the legality of online poker and what it takes to become a legal player. It will also discuss the type of grinder that will play poker online. Here are some helpful tips for online poker players.

Legality of online poker

There have been several arguments over the legality of online poker. The UIGEA (United States Individuals with Disabilities Act) prohibits interstate wire transfers related to sports or contests, but it does not criminalize online poker. The UIGEA has also been a controversial topic for centuries, with many state governments passing laws that explicitly prohibit gambling online. The broadest interpretation of the UIGEA, however, would hold that state-regulated online poker sites violate federal law by accepting deposits from US residents. The same can be said for marijuana legislation. In Nevada, however, marijuana is a regulated drug, and gambling online is not.

Requirements for playing online poker

Requirements for playing online poker vary by jurisdiction, but there are some basic requirements for all players. First and foremost, you must be of legal age to play. In most states, you must be eighteen years old to play. In some countries, you may need to provide proof of age, but these laws vary widely from state to state. For more information, check with your state’s gambling commission. Additionally, some jurisdictions have additional age restrictions for online poker.

Typical grinder

Despite the fact that there is a correlation between work rate and profit in online poker, the term “typical grinder” is not associated with blow-ups, fireworks, or the 6 bet bluff button combusting. Rather, a typical grinder is the kind of player who plays to make as little profit as possible as quickly as possible. Such players are unable to exploit their dominance in online poker, and they do not waste their energy developing complex reads or hyperexploitation strategies. Instead, they adopt a style of play that is less taxing to other players and focuses on the task at hand.

COVID-19 pandemic has increased online poker traffic

As the global COVID-19 pandemic has affected the lives of millions of people, online poker traffic has skyrocketed. In March alone, online poker traffic in New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania jumped 90 percent year over year. This has coincided with a slowdown in the live poker market, which has been ground to a halt by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Regulation of online poker in the US

The United States passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in 2006, which made it illegal for banks to process payments related to online poker. The act was vague and didn’t explicitly ban online poker, but it did make it illegal for banks to process payments for illegal gambling sites. While many major poker sites opted to leave the US market, others, like Party Poker, stayed, and the Department of Justice seized their domain names and indicted several key players on charges of bank fraud and money laundering.