1. Playing poker for free online is a little more complicated than playing online casino games for free. This is because the poker games involve a table full of real live players, not a machine. Some online poker sites have gone the extra mile and incorporated a free play mode in their actual live games.
2. Online gambling officially became legal in the Sagebrush State on February 25, 2013, when Gov. Brian Sandoval signed Assembly Bill 114 into law. WSOP.nv is currently the only site offering online poker services in Nevada. Nevada Gaming Control Board and Nevada Gaming Commission regulate and approve this poker giant.

Oklahoma’s legal real money poker and gambling stance can best be described as dichotomous. The Sooner State houses more casinos than almost any other state in the US, yet only two of OK’s casinos are permitted to offer table games and real cash poker games like Texas Hold’em. And while most forms of gambling and betting are regulated in Oklahoma, the state’s gambling statues are among the strictest we’ve encountered when it comes to Internet poker as well as land based real money lawful poker. Compounding matters further, it appears that Oklahoma’s gambling laws are vigorously enforced by the state’s law authorities – a true rarity.

For states where online poker is legal, this is a guide for US online poker room reviews, poker sites available in your area, deposit bonuses, and online poker announcements. US online poker laws seem to be changing monthly since government attorneys announced that the Wire Act cannot be used to prohibit states from allowing online poker.

So where does that leave online poker and Internet poker websites? Surprisingly, the issue of real money gambling on poker websites has already been addressed by one of OK state’s numerous tribal factions. Furthermore, other forms of online gambling besides real cash Internet poker already exist within the state of Oklahoma. That said, there hasn’t been a single word spoken by government officials regarding an authorized piece of iGaming legal Internet poker legislature. And it’s hard to say if they’re ever will be.

For those of you in Native America looking to make a wager on the virtual green we have found what you may be looking for. Oklahoma gamblers: discover real money US poker sites that you can easily access a free account.

Oklahoma Tribe Sues Feds Over Online Poker Rights

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In 2013, the Cheyenne Arapaho Tribe of Oklahoma entered an agreement with the state of Oklahoma to provide social online gaming, not including Internet poker betting for real cash, to international territories with the stipulation that 20 percent of all real money revenues would go to the state ^[1]. Months after, the US Department of the Interior refused the legit Internet gambling deal, but not for the reasons one would expect. Instead, it revoked it because the state of OK was not offering any meaningful concessions in exchange for the 20 percent of revenues. In other words, the federal government was trying to protect the tribe from making a raw deal.

In September, the real money Internet betting agreement was amended in favor of the Cheyenne Arapahos and now it mentioned legal Internet poker in OK in it.

Under the new conditions, the tribe would pay the state 10 percent on all real cash betting revenue generated from non-house banked games (including real money poker), and less on electronic gaming revenues.

It was promptly rejected again. This time the Department of the Interior stated that Oklahoma couldn’t offer a service like Internet gambling to a market of real money poker playing patrons located exclusively outside of the United States. In response, the tribe, which operates two Lucky Star Casinos and real money poker rooms in Oklahoma, filed a lawsuit asking that the feds stop interfering with its affairs ^[2].

Should the Cheyenne Arapaho become iGaming Internet poker operators, it would mark an unprecedented victory for the tribe and iGaming poker websites in general.

Latest Oklahoma Poker News

Can Players From Oklahoma Play Online Poker?

Not all legit online poker websites accept players from Oklahoma, as the state’s stringent anti-gambling laws likely scared some gaming and Internet poker operators away. Thankfully, we’ve managed to put together a comprehensive list of reputable real money poker websites willing to take a chance on players from Oklahoma. Our recommended real-money poker sites are currently offering some of the best first-time real cash poker deposit bonuses on the planet, and are well-known for their exemplary customer service and prompt payment schedules. Most importantly, they allow residents with few iGaming Internet poker options the opportunity for poker gambling fun from the comfort of their own homes.

Is Online Poker Legal In Oklahoma?

Legal Online Gambling Poker Sites Against

Online poker is not specifically addressed by Oklahoma’s gambling and betting statues. However, there are laws in place that explicitly prohibit all forms of unlicensed gambling and the transmission of gambling information, that could very well apply to online poker websites. Compounding matters, the penalties for violating Oklahoma’s sweeping gambling and poker betting statues, especially as a real money poker operator, are quite severe.

We unfortunately cannot provide you with an accurate answer regarding the legality of online poker at real cash Internet poker gambling websites in Oklahoma. What we can do is prepare you so that by the time you do speak to a legal professional, you’ll be equipped with an arsenal of useful poker websites information.

Key facets of Oklahoma’s gambling law listed below:

• The statues do not provide a spelled-out designation of gambling, although one can be inferred from the definition of bet, which is a bargain in which the parties agree that, dependent upon chance, or in which one of the parties to the transaction has valid reason to believe that it is dependent upon chance, one stands to lose something of value, including real money specified in the agreement. Purses and prizes associated with public events and charitable games are not classified as gambling bets. Section 21-981(1)

Notice that if the parties do not recognize the chance element of a game, the act of wagering or gambling is not considered a bet in OK. This caveat may be of some use to professional real cash poker players, who largely see real money poker as a game of skill.

Unfortunately, the term “poker” does show up in the section detailing penalties for gambling and poker betting operators:

• Section 21-941 reads: Except as provided in the Oklahoma Charity Games Act, every person who opens, or causes to be opened, or who conducts, whether for hire or not, or carries on either poker, roulette, craps or any banking or percentage, or any gambling game played with dice, cards or any device, for real money, checks, credits, or any representatives of value, or who either as owner or employee, whether for hire or not, deals for those engaged in any such game, shall be guilty of a felony. If convicted, illicit gambling operators face fines ranging from $500 – $2,000 and a jail sentence in an OK prison of one to ten years.
• Yet, the term poker is noticeably absent from Section 21-942 – Gambling Playing-Penalty. However, cards do make an appearance. The penalties for participating in any real-money game involving cards, dice or any other device which may be adapted to or used in playing any game of chance is subject to a misdemeanour in Oklahoma, potentially resulting in a fine between $25 and $100 and up to 30 days behind bars.
• The section Dissemination of Gambling Information (Section 21-987(A)) is the closest the statues come to addressing the issue of iGaming and Internet poker. It reads: Dissemination of gambling information is the transmitting or receiving, by means of any communications facilities, information to be used in making or settling bets. Violating the law is a felony.

Although the legality of online poker websites has yet to be debated in an Oklahoma court of law, the Dissemination of Gambling Information clause could easily include Internet wagering and real money poker websites in OK under its broad scope.

The gambling and betting law also states that social gambling like a home game of real money Texas Hold’em poker, regardless of whether a rake is taken or not, is also illegal. It also appears that real cash poker cannot be played at a regulated charitable gaming venue.

To view the entirety of Oklahoma’s statues ^[3], please visit the “References” section.

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The History Of Gambling In Oklahoma

As early as the mid 1800s, makeshift horse racing gambling facilities littered the Indian held territories of Oklahoma. It was commonplace for the tribes to cross into Texas to compete with their southern neighbors, sometimes in the name of friendly rivalry, often times not. Around the same time, roulette and other games of chance and real cash poker were played in frontier saloons in OK.

Legal poker gambling and lawful real money betting continued to run rampant in Oklahoma throughout the latter part of the 19th century and into the 20th. It wasn’t until after the oil boom of the 1920s that the state of Oklahoma began cracking down on illicit gambling activities. Regulations on betting games like real money poker were slowly put into place, and by the middle part of the 20th century, legit gambling and betting venues were virtually nowhere to be found.

In 1982, the state took its first step towards gambling freedom when OK voters approved pari-mutuel real cash betting on horse races. Today, the state of OK boasts three racinos and the Fair Meadows Race Track – which offers gambling for real money on simulcast racing
^[4].

Then in the early 1990s, Oklahoma’s gambling and legit poker betting industry boomed. It was around that time that Indian tribes were permitted to open casinos and real money poker gambling facilities, something the state’s many tribal factions took full advantage of. Within years, bingo halls littered the state, some of which would go on to offer table games and legal real cash poker in Oklahoma. The WinStar World casino, in particular, is noteworthy for its 46-table real money poker room and varied lawful poker tournament offerings ^[5]. Today, Oklahomans can pick their poison from one of nearly 60 – yes, 60 – casinos and legal real cash poker rooms spread across the land.

Next came charitable gambling and a statewide lottery, which later expanded into a multi-state lottery, further increasing tourism from gambling fans and state revenue from the real money betting profits. To date, real money poker has not been approved at charitable gaming venues.

Most recently, the state introduced a form of legal real cash online bingo to its residents.

Regulated Gambling Options In Oklahoma

Most major forms of gambling and betting with the exception of commercial casinos and real money poker rooms, are legal in Oklahoma. But who needs commercial gambling when there are literally dozens of tribal casinos offering games like Texas Hold’em poker sprinkled throughout the state of OK?

Poker players in Oklahoma are playing online, but it may take quite some time before there’s a move to legalize online poker rooms.

The Future Of Regulated Online Gambling In Oklahoma

Oklahoma is one of only a handful of states that addresses the legality of online poker and Internet poker real money gambling, albeit indirectly. And despite its influx of casinos very few of them offer real cash poker betting.

Oklahoma State’s conservative voters are vehemently opposed to gambling and Internet poker expansion, and OK state officials are in no hurry to address the issue of legal poker websites for OK residents. All told, the aforementioned variables lead many industry experts to believe that Oklahoma is not likely to ever regulate online gambling or real cash Internet poker.

That said, Oklahoma’s two largest casinos do offer real money poker, and they are among the most profitable gambling facilities in the entire state of OK. This is no coincidence. Online bingo betting has also proven quite popular among locals. Given this, it’s at least possible that Oklahoma may one day permit online poker websites, but we’d still assess its chances of Oklahoma launching lawful poker websites as below average.

Fun Fact

The Oklahoma State Championship of Poker takes place at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tulsa. The Main Event features a $1,090 real cash poker buy-in and a $50k guaranteed poker gambling jackpot ^[6].

The Bottom Line

It’s entirely possible that if Oklahoma’s overwhelming tribal populace begins pushing hard for online poker and lawful Internet poker, the state will buckle under its demands. Even if that doesn’t happen, if enough nearby states hop onto the iGaming poker websites bandwagon, Oklahoma’s gambling and poker betting industry will undoubtedly falter, forcing OK state officials to at least examine a new strategy which could include giving the go ahead to legal real money Internet poker websites.

However, Oklahoma’s small population of 3.8 million residents may limit its ability to operate a thriving iGaming Internet poker market in OK without an interstate Internet poker compact in place. Thus, don’t expect Oklahoma to be a part of the next wave of states that pass iGaming real money poker websites legislation.

References

[1] ↑Oklahoma Directs Tribes to Cease Online Gaming Activity

[2] ↑Tribe in Oklahoma Sues Feds Over Online Poker Site

[3] ↑Oklahoma Statues

[4] ↑Expo Square

[5] ↑WinStar World Casino and Resort – Poker

[6] ↑Hard Rock – Oklahoma State Championship of Poker

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Nobody has even been arrested for playing real money online poker games in the US. This does not prevent the widespread belief that online poker is illegal. Federal laws exist which make financial transactions between banks and gambling sites illegal –though even these have never been properly tested. What the UIGEA in 2006 and ‘Black Friday’ have succeeded in doing is spreading the widespread misinformation that personally playing the game is illegal. This article gives you some history and an insight into both legal offshore poker sites and the newly regulated ‘in-state’ rooms.

You’ll find the history first below. This will give some context to better understand that playing online poker is perfectly legal. Next you can find a run-down of the biggest and best offshore sites and how you can deposit on them in context of the current banking restrictions. After that you can find information on the regulated sites in New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware – followed by a look into the future.

Legal Poker Sites – 3 Dates Which Define the US Legal Poker Landscape

The first bill which still has effects for online poker rooms actually pre-dates the internet. The Wire-Act of 1959 was put in place to stop sports bets over state borders via telephone. It is the interpretation of what constitutes a ‘gambling transaction’ which has divided the pro and anti-poker lobbies ever since.

In 2006, online poker was booming and millions of Americans were enjoying the games – some as a hobby and others professionally. Then the ‘Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act’ (or UIGEA) was passed through the back-door via an attachment to a Port Security bill. The effect was immediate, with major sites at the time including Party Poker and MicroGaming pulling out of the US.

Poker bounced back, with new sites taking over. PokerStars and Full Tilt were two big beneficiaries – with Stars building much of the momentum which makes them the biggest poker site worldwide today.

2011 saw the landscape change once again, with a crackdown on the financial systems behind poker known as ‘Black Friday’. This effectively shut out PokerStars, Full Tilt, Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker. With the last two going bankrupt and disappearing. Fear of being indicted on money laundering charges is a big deal to the executives of some sites, and reparations have been paid on a Federal level to amend for past transgressions (without liability being admitted).

Poker is now in the process of bounding back once again. A new breed of offshore sites still provides games for US players. These sites are perfectly legal in their own jurisdictions and are building enough momentum to be able to offer a big selection of games and tournaments. At the same time there are individual States starting to legalize online poker games within their borders. Those sites have a marketing interest in calling out others as ‘illegal’, spreading yet more confusion for non-informed poker fans on the true legal state of US online poker.

Legal Poker Sites – State Regulated Sites

Residents of Delaware, Nevada and New Jersey have regulated legal poker sites to play on from within their State borders. You’ll be IP and address checked before you can play. At the moment these sites are smaller than most of the offshore sites listed above. Growth is expected as more people become aware of the opportunity to play in a safe and regulated environment.

Delaware Poker Sites – Delaware residents can play on a platform powered by the software of industry giant 888. With such a small population, you will only find a handful of tables at the regulated sites. These are branded by 3 different casino owners at this point in time, with Dover Downs Casino, Delaware Park and Harrington Raceway all sharing a common back end.

Nevada Poker Sites – Nevada were the second state to offer regulated real money poker games within their borders and have been a testing ground for early adopters keen to perfect their technology before moving on to States with bigger populations. You’ll need to be inside Nevada to access these sites, which include WSOP.com (powered by 888), Ultimate Poker and Real Gaming’s SouthPointPoker – which is in soft launch at the moment and will be open to all in the near future.

New Jersey Poker Sites – At the end of 2013, NJ joined the regulated States list. With 8 million residents, there has been a lot more interest from operators for this State than for Delaware or New Jersey. After a few months the tie-in between Party Poker and The Borgata Casino is emerging as the biggest site, this uses the new Party software – which has big ‘social elements’ in addition to the poker games. Other sites available include the 888-powered WSOP brand, who are leveraging their experience from being the debutant site in NV. 888 have also gone it alone in NJ, with 888Poker and WSOP both being powered by the 888 back-end. The remaining sites are Ultimate Poker (also in NV) and Betfair, who have yet to gain any significant traction.

With more sites preparing to launch, it will be interesting to see who emerges as the single biggest site 6 months from now.

Legal US Poker – The Future

There are at least 10 States who are considering legislation for poker sites, including the massive CA. This means we have a potentially exciting time for US poker over the next couple of years. For now you can play perfectly legally at the many offshore sites.