It’s looking more and more like the bill to ban internet gambling has a better chance of getting passed this time. If it did pass, and internet gambling became illegal, would you still be able to play in poker tournaments? Obviously placing a bet over the internet is going to be considered gambling, but when playing in a tournament you pay an “entry fee” right? That entry fee entitles you to a spot in the tournament where you use chips that have no actual value. This wouldn’t be any different from other online offers which require an entry fee be paid and the winners receive cash prizes. Do you think tournaments could survive?

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then again you only buy chips from the casino to play at their tables and they have no actual value, only to that specific casino, like in real life, but it is still considered gambling

It's not exactly the same thing. At a casino you can cash out your chips because they do translate into a specific value. In a poker tournament you can't cash out because the chips are worthless. Instead you have winners who are awarded prizes.

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Different states interpret different card games differently. Poker tournaments with cash prizes are illegal. Tournaments with prizes that aren't in forms of currency are illegal in most states like mine, Illinois. Playing tournaments online is illegal now and will stay illegal with this bill. Depositing money into a poker account is enough to prove intent.

Gambling is not, technically illegal, is the way where you can get prosecuted for committing the act of gambling. Promoting gambling and tax evasion are crimes. The online poker sites are promoting the gambling from overseas hence the "THIS IS NOT A GAMBLING SITE" in American commercials for the .NET offshoots. You cannot deposit money through the .NET. There is a portal through which the .COM's promote through the .NET's, but those actions from the .NET's are permormed overseas.

i.e.
I have a tournament with an entry fee that is only used to reserve the space. I get 100 people. Those 100 people cannot be prosecuted for an illegal act. I can avoid committing an illegal act by awarding material items, gift certificates, or even pre-deposited throwaway debit cards. I am committing an illegal act if I award prizes in the form of cash, check, or even wire tansfer whether the transfer is performed on or off of American soil. This is because the crime is promoting the wagering of money for money in the State of Illinois.

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There's a difference between The Law of the Land and Martime Law. States with anti-gambling legislation that includes poker have riverboat gambling.

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