Two years have passed since Black Friday and for the first time since then, online poker has returned to the United States in an extremely limited way. Within the next several years, access to online poker sites will slowly return to the lucky residents of states that choose to give their taxpayers access to online poker sites while the simplest solution remains off the table:

Since 2001, Americas Cardroom has dealt millions of action-packed hands to US players every day and runs one of the largest selections of tournaments anywhere online. Is it legal to play poker online? The answer is complicated, especially to poker players living in the United States. The simple answer is that almost all online gaming laws focus on the providers rather than the players. There have been virtually no cases of online poker players being prosecuted simply for playing.

Allow Americans to play on any poker site they wish.

Unfortunately, that request is much too simple for the complicated and seemingly arbitrary ways laws are made in this country, especially with the billions of dollars at stake.

“There’s so much legal gambling in this country that legalizing one form is no big deal politically, but there’s so much legal gambling in this country that almost every state has very powerful, entrenched special interests,” says I. Nelson Rose, professor of law at Whittier College in California, and the premier scholar on the history of gambling and the law in the U.S. “Legal gambling already exists and says: We’re in favor of Internet poker as long as we’re the ones that get the money.”

No one can blame the casino conglomerates and shareholders for staking their claim. The United States online poker market is potentially worth about $2 billion annually.

The worldwide industry continues to trudge on despite losing access to around one-third of the world’s online poker customers in 2011.

While millions of people in countries like Ireland, Russia, and Mexico are allowed to play online poker, here in America, we are shut out. That is unless you live in Nevada, where you can now play online poker against others that are located geographically within the Silver State. New Jersey and Delaware will try and offer online poker to its residents by the end of the year, and a few other states, including Pennsylvania, have bills in the works to do the same.

The reasons used to keep Americans from accessing global sites amount to greed and a total misunderstanding — or willful ignorance — of poker.

The established casino companies and the government want our money. As far as they are concerned, they have first rights to serve Americans. After completely missing the boat on online poker in the early part of this century, the brick and mortar casino industry has staked their claim and are making demands.

“Five years ago, when I spoke at various gaming conferences, the industry couldn’t understand how something like Zynga poker would work. Why in the world would people pay to play poker where you couldn’t win anything?” says Rose.

“That feeling is long gone. Now, all the casino companies are buying up or partnering with social gaming companies and true online gambling companies, and yes, there’s a mix of cultures happening and a potential conflict, but the casino industry understands that this isn’t going away and they want to be a part of it.”

The massive amount of money involved in online poker changed everything. It doesn’t matter that the Department of Justice (DOJ) says poker is a game of skill. It doesn’t matter that local courts have ruled the same way. It doesn’t matter that most state poker laws are more than 100 years old and usually only address “illegal gambling.”

Online poker is now and forever the property of established casinos that are hell-bent on keeping it that way, American consumers be damned.

Since the Obama administration excused itself from this debate by refusing to endorse federal online gambling, poker players in America are being held hostage by the states whose politicians don’t give one wet fart about them.

In the states where casinos exist, the politicians are, in turn, being held hostage by the casinos that, not only played by strict rules established by the states, but also are responsible for billions of dollars in annual tax revenue.

It’s a nasty cycle that will continue to screw American poker players for at least the next decade.

Just in June, Nevada Congressmen Harry Reid again came out against a federal bill that would allow online poker. He said because the bill allows all forms of casino gambling, it would hurt online poker.

Here’s what World Series of Poker (WSOP) media director Nolan Dalla wrote about Reid’s inaction on pushing online poker federally:

“Consider yet another bill introduced recently to legalize online gambling and poker. After so-called ‘attempts’ by Sen. Reid to rally support for these bills within his own party have continuously failed, he’s become so pathetic now that he won’t even step up to the plate and take a swing. He’s already surrendered before the other side tossed the ball. Already, he’s making lame excuses before any kind of debate has begun and the game hasn’t even started yet.”

But here’s the rub: poker, which, in markets like Las Vegas, account for only about one-percent of a casino’s profits, shouldn’t even be included in the same conversation as online slots, blackjack, keno and bingo.

But because of tradition, a willful disregard of the components of the game, and a complete lack of care and understanding for the American poker consumer, the game remains stuck in the muck in most jurisdictions.

The Traditional Bad Guys

The first law prohibiting poker dates to the 1700s in Louisiana, and the laws that soon followed around the country still exist. For example, in Pennsylvania, poker isn’t even specifically addressed. Nothing is. Everything falls under “unlawful gambling.” Unlawful gambling is gambling “not specifically authorized by law.” Poker isn’t mentioned.

But since casinos opened in Pennsylvania in the mid-2000s, the right to deal poker is limited to licensed casinos. It’s basically the same story in all states that license casinos.

The online gambling law that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signed into law early this year specifically prohibits companies that operate outside of New Jersey’s borders. Pennsylvania’s proposed online gambling bill has the same restrictions.

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That means poker sites will have to wedge themselves inside state borders with actual public casinos in order to apply for the licenses.

The largest online poker company in the world, PokerStars, recently suffered a defeat in New Jersey, where its parent company was prevented from buying a casino in Atlantic City. A judge ruled in May that the Colony Capital LLC, the casino’s owner, had the right to cancel the deal. PokerStars desperately wants access to U.S. customers, as evidenced by its $730 million settlement with the U.S. DOJ in July 2012, but is facing harsh rebuttal from the powerful and well-versed American Gaming Association (AGA).

The “existing casino” rule obviously is inserted in legislation as requested by the AGA. The limited number of licenses in each state creates a monopoly.

What else does AGA interference mean to online poker players in the future? It all depends on where people live and which companies own the casinos and card rooms and there are more questions at this point than answers.

Will Nevada residents be able to play against players in New Jersey and elsewhere? Delaware licensed 888 Holdings to run its online gambling. Will players in Delaware be able to play against players on the other side of the globe?

If not, the games may lack the necessary liquidity to make them worthwhile for players or operators.

Will states without legalized gambling enter into agreements with other states to give its residents access to sites “located” across state borders? How about international borders?

Will politicians ever realize how many billions of dollars they are throwing away to appease existing casinos? Will United States residents ever be allowed to access the large global sites ever again?

Mystic lake casino poker room. It’s anywhere from a 45 minute drive all the way up to an hour and 45 minutes in peak times (Friday afternoons).From downtown Saint Paul, the distance to Mystic Lake and Treasure Isl

America Can Play Online Poker