Is Poker Subject to the Recent US Internet Gambling Ban?

In response to the ban on Internet gambling passed by the US Congress on September 30, 2006, the Costa Rica-based PokerStars.com said that the ban would not apply to poker because it is a game of skill. The position of the world's second-largest poker site, Pokerstars, stands in marked contrast to that of its larger competitor Partypoker, which said that the ban made it practically impossible to provide poker for money to US customers. The new legislation (the Internet Gambling Prohibition and Enforcement Act, HR 4411) prohibits staking something of value on "a sporting event or a game subject to chance". If poker is in fact found to be a game of skill, then the ban would not apply. The passing of HR 4411 by Congress has taken a serious toll on the share prices of Internet gambling companies. While many public gambling companies are pulling out of the US market, some analysts predict that private companies will be able to continue. For an article on the News.com site, see: http://news.com.com/2102-1026_3-6125254.html?tag=st.util.print For previous articles in ETIPS, link to: http://makeashorterlink.com/?F2241290E For the text of HR 4411, The Internet Gambling Prohibition and Enforcement Act, visit: http://thomas.loc.gov/home/c109query.html Summary by: Nyall Engfield